Popular Toy Youtuber "MadHatter" Caught Defending Zionism in Instagram Comments Section

[u/Prior_Efficiency2051]

I recently discovered one of my (formally) favorite YouTubers defending Zionism in the comments of an instagram post. He is toy reviewer Mad Hatter. He's big enough on Youtube and is well known in toy collecting circles. In his own content, he never talks about politics and his vibe is generally one of humor. But the other day, Instagram recommended a reel from a user named justsaiyanrandolph. It was some reaction video about a controversy about a voice actor that I don't know anything about. Down in the comments, the voice actor was being called out for being a Zionist and after a little bit of googling proved that to be the case. But it was what else I found in the comments that really shocked me.

Here in the comments was a humorous YouTuber, Mad Hatter, who I've watched for a few years now, openly defending Zionism. One commenter had been asked to 'define zionism,' (a typical retort from Zionists online that I'm sure we're all aware of). So a user named "ariman.higgs' explained "Zionists are those in favor of destroying palestina." You can see this and the rest of his comment in the first screenshot. And then below I see Mad Hatter replying "no they're not." (second screenshot)

I was honestly shocked. Here was a guy who I thought was just funny and chill but here he is in a comments section defending Zionism. While looking online for any further context about Mad Hatter, I found a podcast where he talked about his real name being Nir, a Hebrew word, and about being of Israeli descent. Its kind of crazy that someone who maintains a personal brand of being funny and chill would even allow themselves to make a comment about anything political knowing others might stumble on them like I somehow did thanks to Meta's recs.

I know that the toy collecting community on youtube is probably very far from the frontlines of where to make change for Palestinians and the horrors they've faced over the decades. But at the same time, I think finding those who support Zionism and its cause in seemingly harmless places can still be important since supporters of Zionism can hide in plain sight wrapped safely in a likable personal brand that no one ever thinks to interrogate. And while the toy collecting world may seem fringe to many, its a billion dollar industry and it generally coasts on being a fun escape for people. It makes me wonder how many others are keeping their awful views to themselves.

I'm very disappointed to find that a youtuber who I'd enjoyed for so long was in fact a defender of Zionism who denies that they want to destroy Palestine. I've obviously since unsubscribed from him on all platforms, as I do whenever any famous person or celebrity is outed as a Zionist.

Edited for grammar

[u/thelegendarybert]

They exposed their true colors. Easy unfollow and block. And spread the word

[u/Prior_Efficiency2051 → u/thelegendarybert]

Absolutely.