While it looks like Dream is playing a joke and isn’t serious about putting his mask back on 24/7 (the video features him scarfing down McDonalds while wearing a mask), it underscores how vile certain parts of the internet can be and highlights the very serious topic of online hate.
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Dream rose to internet stardom in recent years for his Minecraft YouTube videos and is renowned for his skill in the game. To date, some of his most popular content is the Minecraft Manhunt series, which involves him speedrunning, or trying to complete the game as fast as possible, while other players try to kill his character. He was named YouTube’s top “breakout” creator of 2020 and currently has 31.6 million followers.
For years, Dream’s face was shrouded in mystery, which no doubt added to his appeal (and also fueled tons of speculative fan art). Last October, the creator said he decided to reveal his face for a simple reason: He wanted to film more diverse content with his friend and fellow Minecraft YouTuber GeorgeNotFound. In addition, Dream said he was tired of people trying to forcefully find out what he looked like.
Unsurprisingly, some people responded viciously to Dream’s real face—which, as Kotaku notes, truly is just a regular face and is quite pleasant-looking, IMHO—comparing him to Rumpelstiltskin from Shrek and calling him ugly. Others meanly told him to put his mask back on.
This is why, Dream claims in his newest video, he’s bringing the mask back. However, some of his fans aren’t buying it. They say the video is satire and a way to promote Dream’s upcoming projects, such as the new Minecraft Manhunt V6 Hunters series.
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These fans make a good point. Dream’s “bye, from Dream” video has a very comical tone, even though it does address the serious topic of internet hate, and features his friends Sapnap and GeorgeNotFound urging him to put his mask on because he’s “irrelevant, has no views, and [is] trash.”
“Am I that ugly?” Dream asks in the video.
“Yes!” GeorgeNotFound says in frustration.
Another clue that the video is a joke can be found on Dream’s Instagram, where he makes a reference to something happening on June 23.
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“I deleted every picture of me & my face reveal lol until i end up dead June 23rd,” he wrote on Sunday.
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In addition, while Dream stated in his YouTube video that he would be deleting all photos of himself online, his Instagram still features a photo of him and his cat, where his face is clearly visible.
If it is a joke, and it very much looks like it is, it nevertheless sends a strong message about how online hate can affect content creators, prompting some to consider leaving the medium altogether and others to, apparently, hide their face from the world. I imagine we’ll find out for sure on June 23.
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