Subscribe
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE

There is no denying the influence of WorldStarHipHop. But at what cost has oft-criticized video aggregation site come to dominate the Internets? The controversial site’s founder, Lee “Q” O’Denat, sat down for a rare interview and offered insight on its creation, growth and critics. 

According to Q, WorldStar is an “entertainment news website.”

Reports the Huffington Post:

It’s interesting, many people compare WorldStar to that of an online tabloid. Yet, as we just said, your sources are the real deal. It’s all right there and that sets you guys apart from the competition. So, in that you’re not a tabloid, in what category would you place the site?

I see us as an entertainment news website. We don’t just cover celebrities, we cover everyday people like you and I. We give the people a look at everyone. Unlike the cable news networks on television, we don’t chase a story or an event for ratings. Bizarre things are happening all over the world in communities all over, rich and poor — we bring that to those who frequent our website, regardless of who they are.

So WorldStar, a site that by all unscientific gets a boatload of traffic thanks to videos of embarrassing fights and brazen ignorance is a news website? Oh.

Q then goes on to say that the reason WorldStar gets the lion’s share of criticism is because of the “Hip-Hop” being in the brand’s name. Oh, again.

As you said earlier, WSHH is an entertainment/news website that happens to also be a video aggregator. It goes without saying that you have competition in that arena. As far as video aggregators are concerned, there isn’t too much of a difference in terms of what type of content WorldStar users are submitting vs. those submitting content on YouTube. You’re both attracting high-profile names that use both sites as a platform to reach their fans, you both get some of what I like to refer to as the “horrors of humanity” when it comes to user-submitted content. Yet, WorldStar is targeted with the majority of the negative feedback. It’s easy to come to the natural assumption, however, there is an equal possibility that it isn’t that reason. If it’s not that reason, then what is the reason? Why do you think that WorldStar is targeted for its user-submitted content?

It’s hip-hop and anything with that name is going to be scrutinized a bit more. Whether people like it or not, we’re showing the realities in which we live. People don’t like the truth, and sometimes it’s in your face. This country has become so obsessed with trying to deliver everything wrapped up in a nice blanket like we’re in a wonderland, and we show everyone that is not the case.

We still don’t get a good reason as to what “Hip-Hop” has to do with some of the egregious content WorldStar’s critics take issue with, though.

Read the full interview with WorldStar founder Lee “Q” O’Denat over at the Huffington Post. Tell us what you think of WorldStar in the comments.

Photo: J Sharpe Press Agency