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Naomi de SouzaBBC Newsbeat
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YouTuber KSI has put out an emotional message to his former Sidemen members after announcing he was leaving the group
YouTuber KSI has admitted some of his former Sidemen members are "angry" and "upset" over his exit, telling them to "be optimistic" about the future.
The social media star - real name Olajide William Olatunji or JJ to friends and family - announced he was leaving the YouTube collective over the weekend.
In a YouTube video, which has nearly three million views, KSI confirmed "nothing bad" had taken place between him and the group and the decision to leave was completely his own.
After fans expressed their shock and speculation it could be a prank, the Britain's Got Talent judge has confirmed the news is "real" and addressed the Sidemen directly to say how "sad" he was about leaving.
"I know you're all grieving in your own way because of my decision, but you knew it was coming for a while," he said in a statement shared to Instagram.
"And I know some of you are angry, some of you don't want to accept it, some of you might even hate me, and some of you are just upset.
"It's ok, I'll always be here for you."
As fans consider what might be next for the social media stars, KSI encouraged the group to "think positively".
"You have an audience that adore you. An audience that enjoy the content," he wrote.
"An audience that have grown with us. You're all very entertaining so don't think otherwise."
He also shared a host of photos of him and the Sidemen from over the years in the post, adding that looking back at the memories had made him emotional.
"I had the time of my life. It's been such an awesome crazy journey," he said.
"I love these guys, and they will always be my friends for life."
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The group have more than 140 million YouTube subscribers between them
In his initial announcement, KSI said he remembered the group's early days and he had "no idea that tens of millions of people were going to be watching us on the channel".
The 32-year-old, whose recent side quests include boxing and owning a minority stake in Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club, went on to say that over the last few years he has felt himself "pulled in a lot of directions".
"Between everything else in my life, I feel like I've been running at full speed, at 100mph."
He also thanked each of the group's other members - Simon Minter, Josh Bradley, Vikram Barn, Tobi Brown, Ethan Payne and Harry Lewis - and said they "deserve somebody who can give 100%".
In a previous statement, the Sidemen said the news had come as a surprise to them but they wished KSI "all the best with his future endeavours".
"We've got lots of exciting stuff planned that we can't wait to share," the group added.
Members of the Sidemen are yet to publicly respond to KSI's latest post.
