Ethan Klein, host of the H3 Podcast and co-founder of the H3H3 YouTube channel, has confirmed that an old Reddit account under the name “u/pedo_troll” belonged to him. The admission came in an Instagram story after users resurfaced the account this week.
Klein stated the account was created around 15 years ago and used for what he described as “edgy attempts at being funny,” including writing posts “in character” as a troll figure. He admitted the account had posted disturbing comments referencing children, but said these were fictional stories and part of a strategy to attract attention to his then-small YouTube channel.
Archived posts from the account, active between 2010 and 2013, include links to H3H3 content, discussions about Tourette’s syndrome, life in Israel, and Israeli politics. Other posts contained offensive or provocative remarks, including pro-pedophilia jokes and inflammatory references to Jewish supremacy.
Klein deleted the account’s contents on Wednesday night after renewed attention, but many of the posts remain available via archive services.
In his Instagram statement, Klein wrote: “I was not ashamed of it then and I am not ashamed of it now. Embarrassed? Yes. On par with cringing at my old YouTube videos.” He added that about 95% of his posts were related to StarCraft 2 or promoting H3H3 content, saying he had “nothing to hide or apologize for.”
