iDubbbz vs Tana Mongeau: Slur Controversy, Content Cop and 2023 Apology

The conflict began in December 2016 when Tana Mongeau publicly condemned iDubbbz for repeatedly using racial and ableist slurs in his videos and told him to kill himself. Rather than immediately responding online, iDubbbz bought access to Mongeau's January 21, 2017 San Francisco meet-and-greet and unexpectedly told her to say the N-word while posing for a photograph. Mongeau, initially unaware of his identity, described the encounter in a January 24 video titled The N Word and condemned racist language. That same day, older footage showing Mongeau herself using the same racial slur began circulating, creating accusations of hypocrisy. On February 6, iDubbbz released Content Cop - Tana Mongeau, combining the meet-and-greet footage with older Mongeau clips and arguments that she had exaggerated parts of the encounter. The episode defended iDubbbz's broader context-based philosophy about offensive language and subjected Mongeau to intense online ridicule. Mongeau announced that she would take responsibility and published An apology on February 17. For years the episode remained one of the best-known examples of iDubbbz's Content Cop era. On May 18, 2023, iDubbbz reversed his position in I miss the old idubbbz. He directly apologized to Mongeau, said he had harassed her in person and online, rejected his former reasoning about racial slurs and announced that his old Content Cop videos would be unlisted. Mongeau responded that she had not expected the apology and did not feel she was owed one for being exposed for her own behavior, while also acknowledging that iDubbbz's treatment of her had been wrong. She said the controversy had forced self-reflection and discussed having him on her podcast. iDubbbz publicly expressed willingness to appear, but no verified joint podcast episode was identified. The 2023 exchange represents a substantial public reconciliation, and no renewed direct feud was identified through August 2026.