KSI, a British YouTuber, rapper, and boxer who is also a co-founder and member of YouTube group the Sidemen, has issued an apology for using a racial slur and announced that he will be taking a break from social media.

During a video with the Sidemen based on the UK game show “Countdown,” KSI formed the word “P**i,” a derogatory term used to describe people of South Asian origin in the UK. This caused outrage on social media, with leading arts practitioners from the South Asian community condemning KSI’s actions.

Actor, writer, and producer Guz Khan, BAFTA nominated for “A Man Like Mobeen,” posted a series of tweets, one of which said: “You see @KSI the issue you have here is that a lot of Pakistanis can make things very difficult for you and anyone giggling in this video. When they catch up with you, I hope the dead countdown joke was worth it…”

DJ Bobby Friction tweeted: “I had this racial slur thrown at me & got physical beats by racists for my entire childhood. Genuinely upset that @KSI (a guy my children love) did this & thought it was funny. The rest of them laughing can go f**k themselves too. People dehumanising brown people like it normal.”

The offensive video has since been removed from the Sidemen YouTube channel, and KSI has apologized for his actions, stating that he will be taking a break from social media.

“I wanna apologise for saying a racial slur in a recent Sidemen video. There’s no excuse, no matter the circumstances, I shouldn’t have said it and I’m sorry,” KSI tweeted. “I’ve always said to my audience that they shouldn’t worship me or put me on a pedestal because I’m human. I’m not perfect, I’m gonna mess up in life, and lately I’ve been messing up a lot. So I’ve decided I’m gonna just take a break from social media for a while.”