Stevin John (born Stephen John Grossman, May 27, 1988), better known by his alias Blippi, is an American children's entertainer on YouTube, Hulu, Netflix, HBO Max, Peacock and Amazon Prime Video. The Blippi character that John portrays has a childlike, energetic, and curious persona, and is always dressed in a blue and orange beanie cap, blue shirt, orange suspenders, and an orange bow tie.[2] John later legally changed his name to Stevin John sometime before 2019.[3]
| Stevin John | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | Stephen John Grossman May 27, 1988 Ellensburg, Washington, U.S. |
| Occupation | Children's entertainer |
| Website | blippi |
| YouTube information | |
| Also known as | Blippi, Steezy Grossman |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Genre | Preschool |
| Subscribers | 21.5 million[1] |
| Total views | 15.7 billion[1] |
Last updated: October 22, 2024 | |
Early life
editJohn grew up "surrounded by tractors, cows, and horses", and has stated that as a child he wished to be a limousine driver and a fighter pilot.[2] John served in the United States Air Force in 2006 and was discharged in 2008.[4]
Steezy Grossman
editJohn started making gross out videos in 2013 under the persona of Steezy Grossman.[3] In a 2013 video, John performed the Harlem Shake on a toilet and defecated on a naked friend.[3][5] When the video was unearthed by BuzzFeed News in 2019, John said, "at the time, I thought this sort of thing was funny, but really it was stupid and tasteless, and I regret having ever done it."[3] John used DMCA takedown notices to remove the video from social media and internet search engines.[6]
Blippi
editThe idea for Blippi came to John after moving back to Ellensburg and witnessing his then two-year-old nephew viewing low-quality videos on YouTube. Blippi has been described as "an adult human man who dresses up in bright clothes and dances around America's deserted soft play centres for the benefit of YouTube".[5] The first Blippi video was published on February 18, 2014,[7] with John starring as Blippi and doing all of the filming, editing and graphics himself on the initial videos. Taking inspiration from children's educators and entertainers before him, such as Mr. Rogers, John wished to portray Blippi as educational but also as thinking and acting as a child would.[8]
The videos garnered a large following with over a billion views on YouTube, and the production staff was expanded, to produce videos in Spanish, establish Blippi Toys, and begin offering DVDs and digital downloads. Some parents criticized the simplistic nature of the character in regard to his tone and repetitive songs about things such as garbage trucks, fire trucks, and pizza.[9]
Blippi has received some criticism from social commentators. Writing for the magazine Current Affairs, Nathan Robinson criticized the videos for their lack of depth, calling his universe "thin and dull". He contrasted the show's themes and lessons to Mr. Rogers and Sesame Street, preferring the latter two shows.[10] Meanwhile, Stuart Heritage of Esquire wrote that the character fascinates him, writing "He has no children. He doesn’t seem to like children". Heritage also brought up John's infamous defecation video.[5]
Stevin John had a son, Lochlan David John, born on March 9, 2022, with his fiancé Alyssa Ingham.
References
edit- ^ a b "About BlippiVideos". YouTube.
- ^ a b "Who Is Blippi?". blippi.com. Archived from the original on November 1, 2018. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
- ^ a b c d Notopoulos, Katie (February 13, 2019). "Kids YouTube Star Blippi "Regrets" The Viral Video In Which He Poops All Over His Friend". BuzzFeed News.
- ^ Phillips, Bethaney (March 30, 2022). "This vet is now the star of a kids' TV show". We Are The Mighty. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
- ^ a b c Heritage, Stuart (July 17, 2019). "YouTube Is Destroying My Child's Mind (And One Person Is To Blame)". Esquire. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
- ^ Koebler, Jason; Maiberg, Emanuel (February 15, 2019). "How Kids YouTube Star Blippi Used Copyright Law to Hide His Harlem Shake Poop Video". Motherboard.
- ^ FARM TRACTORS - KIDS SHOW. Blippi - Educational Videos for Kids. February 18, 2014. Archived from the original on June 8, 2022. Retrieved November 30, 2022 – via YouTube.
- ^ Cuming, Emma (August 22, 2018). "Who the fluff is Blippi??". thespinoff.co.nz. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
- ^ Brockes, Emma (May 4, 2017). "I was trapped by a YouTube clown – but the Wizard of Oz saved me". theguardian.com. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
- ^ Robinson, Nathan J. (August 25, 2020). "The Dead World of Blippi". Current Affairs. Retrieved April 19, 2024.