YouTube Rewind 2020: Controversial video cancelled for first time ever

(Getty Images)

YouTube will cancel its annual “Rewind” video, the controversial look back at the past year.

Rewind is usually a high-budget, production released in December that includes the creators, videos and trends that have defined the preceding year.

But it has also proven controversial in the past, as fans regularly disagree with who is included and left out of each video.

The 2018 recap became the site’s least popular video ever – after excluding high-profile people such as PewDiePie, and including celebrities famous from outside of YouTube – and the 2019 version attracted ire too.

Now YouTube says that 2020’s video will not take place because of the nature of the year. It did not say what specifically about 2020 had led it to make the decision.

"Since 2010, we’ve ended the year with Rewind: a look back at the year’s most impactful creators, videos and trends. Whether you love it – or only remember 2018 – Rewind was always meant to be a celebration of you.

“But 2020 has been different. And it doesn’t feel right to carry on as if it weren’t. So, we’re taking a break from rewind this year.”

YouTube did not indicate definitively whether or not the video would come back in 2021.

"We know that so much of the good that did happen in 2020 was created by all of you. You’ve found ways to lift people up, help them cope, and make them laugh. You made a hard year genuinely better.

“Thank you for making a difference.”

The Twitter post announcing the cancellation led to a flurry of support. YouTube star Hank Green wrote “yeah, this sounds like the right call”, and received more than 1,500 likes.