Ethan Klein

Last updated

Ethan Klein
Ethan Klein (cropped).jpg
Klein in 2017
Born
Ethan Edward Klein

(1985-06-25) June 25, 1985 (age 40)
Citizenship
  • United States
  • Israel
Alma mater University of California, Santa Cruz (BA)
OccupationInternet personality
Known for H3 Podcast
h3h3Productions
Teddy Fresh
Spouse
Hila Hacmon
(m. 2012)
Children3
Relatives

Ethan Edward Klein (born June 25, 1985) [2] is an Israeli American [3] YouTuber, comedian, and podcaster. He is the host of the H3 Podcast . He first found fame with the YouTube channel h3h3Productions, created by him and his wife Hila Klein.

Contents

Early life

Klein was born in Ventura, California, in 1985 to Donna and Gary Klein, [4] and has two older siblings. On his father's side, he is the biological grandson of Leonard Katzman, although his father was adopted and raised by another family. Klein attended Buena High School and has a bachelor's degree in English literature from the University of California, Santa Cruz. [1] [5]

Klein is of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. [6] He met his wife, Hila Hacmon, at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Israel in 2007 while he was on a Birthright Israel trip and Hila was serving in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). [7] They married in 2012. [8] During the early years of their YouTube careers, they lived together in Florentin, Tel Aviv, Israel. [9]

Career

Klein's entertainment career began shortly after the couple's meeting while Hacmon was enrolled in the Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art in Ramat Gan, Israel. Klein commented that their first YouTube channel began when Hacmon praised a male student in her video art class for his artistic talents. Wanting to prove himself to Hacmon, Klein proposed they make videos together and post them online under the h3h3Productions YouTube channel. The "h3h3" name was created in reference to the couple's first initials. However, because "hehe" was not an available title, they opted for "h3h3." [10]

The h3h3Productions YouTube channel first got mainstream traction when Klein began posting weekly reaction videos. These videos were in response to what he describes as left-leaning "social justice warriors," where he acted as the "anti-social justice warrior." In 2016, Ethan and Hila created the H3 Podcast YouTube channel. [11] In 2016, Ethan and Hila created the H3 Podcast YouTube channel. Although it initially started with pre-recorded episodes, the channel quickly pivoted towards long-form live content. [12] [13]

Controversies

In 2016, Ethan Klein uploaded to his YouTube channel a video of himself sexually harassing a 17-year old victim of the Boston Marathon Bombing, using profanities and racial slurs. [14] In 2024, the video re-emerged, gaining widespread attention on social media.

In 2020, reports appeared about sponsors ceasing collaboration with Klein due to its frequent use of racist and homophobic slurs [15] [16] . This behavior came under renewed scrutiny in 2025, when the podcast host used racial slurs while singing a Kendrick Lamar song and an eight-minute compilation of Klein using racial slurs gained traction online [17] [18]

In 2022, he was mentioned in The New York Times for being sexually explicit with minors while playing Horizon Worlds, a virtual-reality forum from Meta. [19] [20] In the same year, he was criticized for antisemitic remarks against conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro. [21]

In January of 2023, after a scandal involving explicit deepfakes of several high-profile female broadcasters, Ethan Klein was criticized for bursting into laughter while watching a tearful live stream of prominent Twitch streamer QTCinderella, who was one of the victims. Klein later apologised for his behavior. [22]

In August 2025, it was discovered that Klein was the owner of a Reddit account named "pedo_troll", which he used to publicize his YouTube channel at the beginning of his career and upload posts often related to pedophilia and incest. After gaining attention on social media, Klein noted that the account was just a "bizarre and edgy" attempt at humor, and that he had "nothing to hide or apologize for". [23] Every post on the account has been deleted.

Personal life

The Kleins have three sons. [8] [24] [25] Since 2021 they reside in Bel Air, California. [26] Ethan Klein lives with Tourette syndrome. [27] Klein is a brother-in-law to Trisha Paytas and Moses Hacmon, who met each other on his podcast. [28]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Pellot, Emerald (June 11, 2021). "Who is Ethan Klein? The YouTuber is best known for h3h3 productions". In The Know. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  2. "Meeting The Queen Of Melrose - H3 Show #28". YouTube. H3 Show. June 26, 2024. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  3. "Ethan Klein claims "white supremacists" are to blame for his YouTube ban". Dexerto. October 21, 2022. Retrieved January 19, 2025.
  4. Parsons, Kit (November 15, 2021). "Podcast Review and Mini-Interview: H3 Podcast with Gary Klein | Redbrick Culture". Redbrick. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  5. Colombo, Charlotte (December 22, 2021). "How controversial influencer Ethan Klein rose to fame, from feuds and Frenemies to being banned from YouTube for a week". Insider . Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  6. Starr, Michael (October 20, 2022). "If another Holocaust, 'I hope Ben Shapiro gets gassed first' - YouTuber". The Jerusalem Post . ISSN   0792-822X . Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  7. Raphael, Shannon (December 11, 2020). "Is YouTube Comedian Ethan Klein Married?". Distractify. Archived from the original on May 29, 2021. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  8. 1 2 Adhya, Arpita (May 28, 2021). "Who is Hila Klein's husband Ethan Klein? YouTuber couple learns about pregnancy live on H3 podcast". Meaww. Archived from the original on May 29, 2021. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  9. Klein, Ethan (January 10, 2017). "Trapped in Israel", at timestamp 1:30. YouTube. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  10. Rawtalk Podcast. "H3 Calls Out Sneako & Tate Arrested in Romania?" YouTube video, 2:11:14. January 3, 2023
  11. Rawtalk Podcast. “H3 Calls Out Sneako & Tate Arrested in Romania?” YouTube video, 2:11:14. January 3, 2023
  12. JeffFM. “First LIVE show with Teenage Heartthrob Ethan Klein from the H3Podcast Ep. 123.” YouTube video, 1:49:10. January 25, 2024.
  13. Steve-O’s Wild Ride! - Podcast. “Ethan Klein is Sick of Lawsuits - WIld Ride #223.” YouTube video, 1:20:33. July 11, 2024.
  14. "Ethan Klein Boston bombing". Youtube.com. SamNam.
  15. Tenbarge, Kat (May 5, 2020). "YouTubers are reporting that Old Spice dropped its sponsorship of h3h3's Ethan Klein amid a brewing troll war with Keemstar". Business Insider.
  16. Bish, Joe (February 28, 2017). "H3H3 Productions Are the Married Couple Calling Bullshit on YouTube". Vice. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
  17. Shaikh, Nida. ""Can't wait to hear why this is Hasan's fault": Internet reacts as Ethan Klein drops N-word on H3 podcast". Soapcentral.com. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
  18. "Ethan Klein N-word Compilation - The Racist, Sexist and Slanderous Hypocrisy of H3H3 Productions". Youtube.com. Cobber Cast.
  19. Hill, Kashmir (October 7, 2022). "This Is Life in the Metaverse". The New York Times.
  20. "Ethan gets banned from The Metaverse - Full episode". Youtube.com. H3 Podcast Highlights. Retrieved September 12, 2025.
  21. Lapin, Andrew (October 22, 2022). "Jewish YouTuber Ethan Klein suspended after Holocaust 'joke' about Ben Shapiro". Ynet News. Retrieved September 12, 2025.
  22. Glaze, Virginia (February 1, 2023). "Ethan Klein issues formal apology to QTCinderella after laughing at deepfake drama". Dexerto. Retrieved September 12, 2025.
  23. "Ethan Klein Reddit leak: Everything we know so far about the controversy shaking H3H3's founder". Times of India. September 1, 2025. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
  24. Ojomu, Nola (June 5, 2019). "YouTube stars H3H3 announce birth of their baby boy, Theodore". Metro . Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  25. Weiss, Geoff (June 6, 2019). "H3h3Productions' Ethan And Hila Klein Give Birth To Baby Boy, Theodore". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on March 7, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  26. McClain, James (October 27, 2019). "YouTubers Ethan & Hila Klein Buy $9 Million Bel Air Mansion". Dirt. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  27. H3Police - Clips (February 1, 2023). Ethan Klein opens up about his Tourettes #h3h3productions . Retrieved June 4, 2025 via YouTube.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  28. "A timeline of Trisha Paytas and Moses Hacmon's relationship, from a YouTube dating show to walking down the aisle and having a baby". Yahoo News. September 15, 2022. Retrieved May 8, 2023.