Each week, we handpick a selection of stories to give you a snapshot of trends, updates, business moves, and more from around the creator industry.
This week, a TikTok patriot passes on, a cross-country journey supports charity, and a new shark just dropped.
Creator commotion
RIP, Patriotic Kenny. The 84-year-old, who brought in millions of TikTok followers with his positivity and electric scooter videos, died this week. The cause of death was lung cancer. Kenny was a political activist throughout his final years, and he was one of the TikTokers who campaigned on the app’s behalf in D.C.
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VidCon has announced the 2026 class for its “Hall of Fame.” Last year, the VidCon Hall of Fame launched as a way to honor trailblazing creators who have made an undeniable impact on the digital economy. In 2026, the honorees will include four multi-hyphenates who defined the creator economy before that term was ever in use: Markiplier, Michelle Phan, Philip DeFranco, and Cassey Ho of Blogilates.
Kareem Rahma’s Keep The Meter Running premiere party was quite the vibe. After breaking out with Subway Takes, Rahma is teaming up with YouTube to launch a new show that premiered its first two episodes at an exclusive party. The guest list included comedians like Ramy Youssef and Eric Andre as well as creators like Tinx. If you think Rahma deserves these accolades after grinding on the subway for so long, then I 100% agree.
The biz
Justin Leusner’s NBA arena tour raised $100,000 for Make-a-Wish. Leusner, a sports creator in the Jesser mold, visited all 30 NBA venues over a one-month span. He discussed his fundraising feat in a YouTube blog post. “I’ve wanted to visit all 30 NBA arenas since I was in elementary school,” Leusner wrote. “At 23 years old, I finally did it…but in 1 month, with an iPhone, a world record on the line, and a goal to raise $100,000 for Make-A-Wish.”
A24’s adaptation of The Backrooms is primed for a big opening weekend. Kane Parsons’ directorial debut, which adapts a series he kicked off on YouTube, will hit theaters at the end of May. When it does, it is projected to reach an opening weekend gross of about $50 million. That would be an opening-weekend record for A24 and would cement creators’ shared status as Hollywood darlings.
Ben Relles enters the land of Make Believe with his new startup. Relles, a former programming exec at YouTube, has recruited some YouTube vets to join him on the leadership team at Make Believe, a company that will focus on the interactive video formats of the future. LinkedIn Co-Founder Reid Hoffman is a backer — and he’s even teamed up with Make Believe to develop his own AI avatar.
Grab a bite
You can now order Binging With Babish meals via CookUnity. Babish, whose real name is Andrew Rea, makes delectable dishes out of a souped-up studio kitchen in New York City. We longer have to assume that Rea’s food is as tasty as it looks, because he’s sending his cooking all over the country as a CookUnity chef. The base price for each Babish meal will be $15.99.
The Golden Balance is opening a restaurant in his hometown of Flint, Michigan. If you want to learn how to prepare Mediterranean, Levantine, and Middle Eastern classics, Ahmad Alzahhabi — who is known as The Golden Balance online — is one of the best cooking instructors out there. With a stall at the Flint Farmers’ Market, Alzahhabi will give his fans a chance to taste some of his creations, including his famous chicken-over-rice recipe.
Netflix wants to be Feastables now? As part of a continued push into consumer products, Netflix is teaming up with The Ferrero Group to move into the confections category. Netflix is positioning its consumables as a tie-in for its contribution to the Wonka franchise, but I think the streamer just wants to copy MrBeast. It seems like everyone on YouTube is doing it, so why not Netflix?
Platform headlines
YouTube tests a layout that removes the Subscriptions tab from its mobile app. Subscribing is an iconic part of the YouTube experience, but could the platform ever do away with the action that follows “like” and “comment”? An ongoing experiment depreciates the Subscriptions tab for some YouTube users. In a world defined by algorithmic feeds, that might not feel like such a huge change.
Stephen Colbert is done with The Late Show, but he’s just getting started on TikTok. Colbert launched his official TikTok account shortly before he hosted his final late-night show on CBS. If Colbert is going to get busy on TikTok, I have a message for him: Short-form videos feel like the perfect vehicle for bringing back the classic Colbert Report segment “The Word.”
Netflix attracted a peak audience of about 17 million concurrent viewers for its Rousey vs. Carano MMA fight. Women’s combat sports have become a dependable niche for Netflix ever since the thrilling undercard to the Paul/Tyson fight two years ago. Ronda Rousey’s return to The Octagon turned into another feather in Netflix’s cap. The streamer is really getting used to this live sports thing.
The internet is a strange place
A creator’s deep-sea video revealed one of the world’s rarest sharks. Barny Dillarstone dropped a camera into the ocean in Indonesia, and the results were unprecedented. After sighting a few common shark varieties, Dillarstone noticed an Indonesian Houndshark. According to experts, this may be the first time that particular variety has been caught on camera.
Some teachers actually like YouTube in classrooms. There’s a lot of talk these days about classroom tech bans and the potential effects those regulations could have on youth attention spans. Some educators, however, don’t want the crackdown to go too far. Teachers in Manitoba are lobbying the Canadian government in hopes of exempting YouTube from any under-18 social media bans that come into effect.
A Charlie Kirk memer earned an $835,000 settlement in court. After being jailed over a Charlie Kirk meme he posted in the wake of the pundit’s assassination, retired police officer Larry Bushart won a court case he filed on First Amendment grounds. In this case, the judge has set the dankest of precedents.
