STOCKHOLM • YouTube's most popular star, PewDiePie, found himself in hot water again on Monday after using a racial slur while playing a livestreamed video game, just a few months after losing contracts over anti-Semitic videos.

In a video clip available online since Sunday, the 27-year-old Swede, whose real name is Felix Kjellberg, uses the N-word in an expletive-laden tirade against his opponent.

PewDiePie is known for posting humorous clips and testing video games for his more than 57 million followers on YouTube, making him the site's most-watched user.

One game developer said he was going to file a complaint to prevent the Swede from playing his games online. "He's worse than a closeted racist: he's a propagator of despicable garbage that does real damage to the culture around this industry," developer Sean Vanaman tweeted.

On Twitter, some users recalled PewDiePie had "already been a racist memelord". Kjellberg, who has yet to comment on the affair, lost contracts with YouTube and Disney in February after he posted several videos containing antiSemitic and Nazi remarks.

In September last year, he was temporarily blocked on Twitter after making a joke about the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE