This article originally appeared on VICE Canada.
Canadian YouTuber Lilly Singh is an undeniable celebrity. More than 16 million subscribers tune into her YouTube channel IISuperwomanII. She’s amassed a countless number of comedic skits, while managing guest appearances featuring the likes of Will Smith, Selena Gomez, and Dwayne Johnson. And because of that workload—Lilly Singh is tired, and she’s taking a break.
The announcement from the Ontario-born personality came on Monday, when she uploaded a video titled, I’ll see you soon. In the seven minute and 53 second video with lone Singh facing a camera, she blames the root of her decision on burnout, and on the realities of being, “mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually exhausted,” as she could stand to be “mentally healthier” irregardless of her love for the platform.
None of this should be a real surprise to anyone paying attention. For eight good years, Singh has built a brand strictly from the steady stream of videos and daily vlogs she’s released. And it’s the same work that positioned her as one of the highest paid personalities on YouTube—no doubt aided by the 27-city world tour and full-length documentary she spent time endorsing in 2016. In this latest vlog, she goes on to speak about that same continual output and the reasons for why she can no longer understand the platform like she used to.
“It makes creators believe that we have to pump out content consistently,” she admitted. “Even at the cost of our life and our health because if you don’t, you become irrelevant.”
Lilly Singh clearly isn’t the lone YouTube celeb to experience this burnout either. Every major personality from H3H3 productions to PewDiePie have struggled to stay on the top in a platform that promotes a grind to the shine. For some, like YouTuber named Will Lenny who VICE did a recent profile on, quitting your day job to become a full-time YouTuber on the hunt for subscribers can be a lonely experience all in itself.
“With my roommate working away a lot, the only real interaction you can have sometime is with yourself on the other end of the screen,” he admitted. “Shit. It can be lonely. I could force myself out more, but I get so focused on what I’m working on that I block out everything else.”
In the case of Lilly Singh, she’s making public note of this ongoing problem and she’s not sure how long she’s going to be gone. “I hope you know that I really need this for my sanity, for my happiness, and to just be better.”
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Article source: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/3k9b83/youtube-star-lilly-singh-is-taking-a-break-citing-mental-health