On Thursday, YouTube announced that it would cancel its annual review “Rewind” because it did not feel it was appropriate.
About “Rewind” this year. pic.twitter.com/oVayH8iyqG
– YouTube (@YouTube) November 12, 2020
“Since 2010, we have concluded the year with Rewind: a review of the year’s most influential creators, videos and trends. Whether you love it – or just remember 2018 – Rewind should always be a celebration for you,” the statement says.
It goes on to say that after a long year, it doesn’t feel like the fitting ending it usually has. “2020 was different,” the declaration says. “It does not feel right to continue as if it were not. That’s why we’re taking a break from rewinding this year”.
The statement ends with praise for the YouTubers, who have made the best of what is still a very long year. “[S]o much of the good that happened in 2020 was created by all of you. You have found ways to lift people up, help them cope and make them laugh,” concludes the statement. “You have really made a hard year better. Thank you for making a difference”.
Some YouTubers expressed their disappointment that the video will not appear on the website. YouTuber “Dream”, which makes videos at Minecraft speed, responded to the YouTube tweet and said it was “the worst thing that ever happened. Someone else replied, however, that they could just make their own version of “Rewind”.
Dream about making our own YouTube rewind
– karl 🙂 (@KarlJacobs_) November 12, 2020
One person said he was confused by the backlash about the lack of rewind this year. They wrote that the rewinds “ALWAYS suck”.
In both 2018 and 2019, both rewind videos actually received more dislikes than sympathy. The 2018 edition received 18 million votes down and only 2.9 million votes up. This gap closed slightly in 2019 with 9.2 million dislikes and 3.4 million sympathies. According to Digital Trends, the 2018 video is the least popular on the website.
Despite attempts to play down the hatred against the 2018 Rewind video, the 2019 Rewind video is the third most popular dislike video on the website, right after Justin Bieber’s music video for “Baby”.
Why are people angry about the fact that the YouTube rewind will not happen this year, when YouTube ALWAYS sucks https://t.co/BkrJ2S0YUv
– Squimpus (@squimpus) November 12, 2020
Todd in the Shadows, who writes humorous song reviews on the website, said it is possible that YouTube is using the year 2020 only as an excuse to abolish the tradition, as it has led to controversy in recent years. He also tweeted that in light of other major cultural events, the tough year is not a valid excuse for not shooting the video. “If we can still hold the Emmys, we can put together a five-minute supercut of popular YouTube videos,” he wrote.
Yes, “2020 was bad” is a transparent excuse to stop producing these videos, which are a huge controversy and a headache for the website. https://t.co/ad7FRFA8rF
– Todd in the Shadows (@ShadowTodd) November 12, 2020.
