KSI: YouTuber visits mosque after racial slur in Sidemen video

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KSI apologised after using a racial slur in a YouTube video with The Sidemen

KSI has visited a mosque and spoke to an Imam, days after he used a racial slur in a YouTube video.

In the now-deleted YouTube clip with his group The Sidemen, he created the four-letter derogatory word for people of South Asian origin, during a Countdown challenge.

He then tweeted an apology saying there was "no excuse".

The rapper, whose real name is Olajide William Olatunji, went to the Al-Hikam Institute in Bradford on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old was pictured wearing a red covering during the visit, listening to Imam Muhammed Asim Hussain.

BBC Newsbeat have approached representatives for KSI for comment.

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Videos of KSI meeting those at the mosque have been viewed millions of times on social media, with some praising the visit.

"The least he can do is face up to his mistakes and educate himself," one person posted.

Others doubted his motive, with one Twitter user writing he was there "because he's been advised by his PR team for damage limitation, to preserve his brand".

In the clip, the Imam can be heard saying: "With the intention of malice, even those probably sat on the side, they probably didn't understand... they might have just been like laughed off.

"He's here to learn about what it is, he's never been in a mosque."

The YouTuber turned boxer also announced he was taking a social media break when he apologised on Monday.

"I've always said to my audience that they shouldn't worship me or put me on a pedestal because I'm human," he tweeted.

KSI found fame with The Sidemen and is regularly involved in sketches on their YouTube channel, which has more than 18 million subscribers.

In March 2021, KSI apologised for previously using "transgender slurs", saying he "honestly didn't even know they were slurs. I know now though".

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