James Jackson

Gregory Jackson (born November 11, 1985) is an American YouTube video maker and personality. He is known on YouTube as Onision; the name of his flagship channel. He is most recognizable in mainstream media as the creator of the viral video "Banana Song (I'm A Banana)," which has amassed over 40 million views.

On YouTube, Jackson is known as a controversial content creator - known popularly as YouTube's Perfect Villain - due to his handling of controversial matters in his videos, feuding with other YouTubers, showcasing much of his personal life in his videos, and having a firm and strong system of beliefs that he has been known to convey in what can be considered an irrational manner.

Early Life

Jackson has never outwardly discussed his birthplace or hometown, but it is believed that he was born or at least lived in Oregon at some point during his upbringing, due to his mentioning going to school in Oregon.

Jackson's parents divorced when he was two-years-old, after his father was convicted for committing a sexual crime against a minor. At age 15, Jackson was physically attacked by his father, where he retaliated in self-defense, repeatedly kicking his father in the chest.

A recurring theme in Jackson's videos has been his struggle with depression and suicidal thoughts or behaviors throughout his life. He has said that he was deeply depressed and suicidal in high school, from which he recovered. He has gone on record stating that he was again depressed and having suicidal thoughts in his adult life, as a result of his on-going struggle with his personal life.

Having recovered from depression multiple times, he uses his experience aid others as a peer-advisor.

Jackson is very close with his mother, who has appeared in videos of his, including "Ghosts Caught On Camera".

Jackson was an airman in the United States Air Force, from which he quit, citing its conflict with his liberal views.

YouTube Career

Jackson started his first channel, Onision, in 2006. In his earliest videos, Jackson would refer to himself by the name of his channel, though he has said he initially planned on referring to himself as and being referred to as "Greg." Despite this, the name Onision stuck with him, and it has been his identity since.

Jackson created his second channel, OnisionArchive, in 2008. He never went into detail about the nature of this second channel when he started it, but it was used as a secondary channel in the same way many YouTubers utilized secondary channels at the time; as a platform for additional content, as well as to maximize on the earning power of his audience via advertisements. As of 2009, the OnisionArchive channel has been used in the way its name suggests; as a user archive.

In 2009, Jackson created the channel OnisionSpeaks (known by him and fans simply as Speaks), as a charity effort to support awareness of vegetarianism. Shortly after its conception, however, the OnisionSpeaks channel became his primary self-help and peer-advisory channel. Because of its nature, the channel has been a source of controversy for Jackson, due in part to users accusing Jackson of assigning himself a professional on the matter of depression and suicidal thoughts or behaviors. Despite these accusations, Jackson has never conveyed that he believes himself to be of expert help, and has often urged viewers to understand that he can only offer advice.

In 2011, Jackson implemented another channel, called OnisionEncore, in which he primarily video blogs. The OnisionEncore channel has the most inconsistent upload schedule of all Jackson's channels, and is not considered by him or fans as a primary channel of his.

In 2012, Jackson created his most recent channel UhOhBro, on which he uploads videos of him searching for and reacting in real-time to various topics, which he searches for on the search engine Google. The UhOhBro channel was his most updated channel in 2012, and continues to see a high volume of uploads on a regular basis.

Video Styles

Jackson's video styling has been known to shift throughout his career. At many points in time, he has been seen as happy, humourous, and cheerful, while at other points he has been seen as high-strung, irrational, and excessively angry. By his own account, he has said to change his personality depending on the video he is releasing, based on what he believes the proper delivery of the particular video should be.

Jackson's fan-base is predominantly American females in the 11 to 16 age demographic. Due to this being his primary following since early in his career, Jackson has an adept understanding of his community, and applies this understanding to his videos. He has been criticized for this practice, with critics citing that he manipulates his audience by releasing videos he knows they will react to, while claiming such videos are his own self-expression - commonly referred to as manipulative production. Despite the accusations, Jackson has never commented on whether or not he utilizes any particular production methods to improve his user reception.

Controversies

Throughout his YouTube career, Jackson has been known as a controversial YouTuber. This is credited mostly to aspects of his person or his videos throughout his career: his brash delivery of certain viewpoints he has (or has had), his feuding with various other users, his showcasing of deeply private aspects of his personal life, and his handling of certain subjects when communicating with his audience.

"Murder Eaters" Controversy

The earliest of Jackson's controversies came in April 2009, when he uploaded a video titled "Murder Eaters." In the video he criticizes the population of the world that regularly consumes meat, calling them "murderers" and proclaiming he "does not give a fuck" about the lives and opinions of those that eat meat. He quickly removed the video less than one day after its release.

Feud with Shay Butler

His next controversy came in 2010, where he criticized Shaytards proprietor and former Maker Studios partner Shay Butler for saying that he was going to have his newest son circumcised. Jackson attacked Butler via Twitter, leading to a massive influx of negativity over social media towards Jackson from Butler's fan-base. Jackson apologized for implying that his comments were "made personal," but did not apologize for his criticism of Butler.

Divorce from Skye Tantaga

Jackson became the subject of scrutiny again in late-2010 into early-2011, following his divorce from his first wife Skye Tantaga. On December 22, 2010, Jackson posted to his portals a contract stating that he agreed to offer financial support to Tantaga - up to 30% of his total income - for one year. He was criticized for this, as it was seen as very specific private information that was not necessary to share via the internet.

The controversy went even further on December 25, 2010, when Jackson posted a video to YouTube documenting that his home had been broken into and that many of his belongings had been stolen, implying that Tantaga was the culprit. The authenticity of this incident was brought into question within hours of its release, as many users questioned why Jackson had first thought to film and upload a video instead of contacting the authorities. This (and potentially along with the nature of the video itself) prompted Jackson to remove the video, though multiple replicas had already been uploaded to YouTube and other websites.

In a video released in 2012, Jackson confirmed that Tantaga was responsible for the burglary.

Relationship with Shiloh Hoganson

Starting in early-2011, Jackson began a highly problematic and extremely publicized relationship with Canadian singer/songwriter Shiloh Hoganson, also known as Draculoh. Hoganson first began appearing in Jackson's videos in April 2011, not long after the two started dating. From that point forward, Hoganson made regular appearances on Jackson's channels.

In the Summer of 2011, Jackson uploaded a video titled "Shiloh Forgot Me," in which he films Hoganson experiencing memory loss from a range of up to three years. The video sparked criticism of Jackson for uploading filming Hoganson during memory loss episode instead of seeking emergency medical attention for her. This was the first of the many controversial videos regarding Hoganson.

Also in Summer of 2011, Jackson released another highly controversial video regarding Hoganson, in which she is filmed suffering from a seizure. This caused a tremendous amount of backlash towards Jackson, as he was criticized for not seeking emergency medical attention for Hoganson. Jackson defended his actions, saying Hoganson had requested not to recieve emergency medical attention. In addition to this, the video is believed to be fabricated completely, causing criticism to both Jackson and Hoganson.

First Separation from Hoganson & Relationship with Adrienne Jourgansen*

Following a series of other controversial videos posted through early- and mid-2011, including a telling blog post by Hoganson regarding hers and Jacksons' relationship (the authenticity of which has been brought into question), Jackson and Hoganson ended their relationship for roughly two months in August. On September 3, 2011, Jackson posted a video titled "I Found Her," confirming he had begun a relationship with a woman who later be identified as Adrienne Jourgansen. Jourgansen was believed to be at least seven years Jackson's junior. The relationship lasted a short time, prompting Jourgansen to publish a letter about her association with Jackson. She wrote:

“...It felt like the more I [rejected] his attempts at controlling the situation, the more extravagant his next attempt would be. It was like the ultimate game of pong; back and forth, until one of us would slip up, and then it’s game over. I want you to remember, this is still night 3 of us talking. Not 3 years, not 3 months, not 3 weeks, 3 days. Please notice how he is already throwing the L word around — as if he is using it to control me and invoke fear, rather than to express any genuine feelings for me...”

She also adds:

“He told me that Shiloh is a psychotic [pathological] liar — that almost every word that comes out of her mouth is fabricated or designed to hurt someone. I think it goes without saying that he told me he didn’t believe she was pregnant and that she lied entirely about losing her memory — that she admitted it to him later."

The letter also includes a claim that Jackson had forced Jourgansen to have sex with him without using a condom, which he has neither confirmed nor denied since the particular claim.

Also in her letter, Jourgansen revealed that she had an email correspondence with Hoganson's mother, in which she wrote (to Jourgansen):

“...He [Jackson] tried mending things with his wife [Skye Tantaga] when he booted Shiloh [Hoganson] out, and now he’s turned to her [Hoganson] when you guys didn’t work out… He [Jackson] just found the weakest link... It scares me because I know how calloused he [Jackson] is from the last time. I was there to rescue her that time but now she’s too far away and knows absolutely nobody there. He [Jackson] is evil personified. It’ll only be a matter of time before he kicks her out onto the street again... She just doesn’t seem to have any self worth any more..."

Reunion with Hoganson

In November 2011, Jackson revealed that he and Hoganson had been reunited for about one month, and that she was pregnant with their child (in a video titled "Our Child").

Exactly one month after Jackson's announcement that Hoganson was pregnant, Jackson posts a video update stating that she had suffered a miscarriage. The same month, Jackson released a video titled "Shiloh Has Sepsis," in which he reveals Hoganson was diagnosed with the potentially life-threatening inflammatory condition Sepsis. Immediately following this video however, Jackson posts a video titled "I'm Sorry," where he claims that Hoganson fabricated the Sepsis diagnosis.

Following these videos, the authenticity of the interactions between Jackson and Hoganson that took place in December 2011 was brought into question. Jackson then released a video titled "Goodbye Shiloh," in which he claims that he and Hoganson had officially ended their relationship. Jackson responded to those who doubted the situation between Hoganson and himself, asking "why would [he] show the truth just for views when [his] imagination can make up something much more entertaining?" Following the "Goodbye Shiloh" video, Hoganson never again appeared in any of Jackson's videos, and he has since not mentioned her name (including when he has answered questions about her, citing his interest in minimizing her publicity).

Rape Comments & Barring from VidCon 2012

In January 2012, allegations arose that Jackson had raped or had otherwise forced a particular sexual act upon Adrienne Jourgansen while the two had dated in 2011. These allegations arose as early as mid-2011, but were once again circulated when Jourgansen made a statement that she felt "forced into [having sex] with [Jackson]." In the same statement, Jourgansen also claims that Jackson had forced her into having intercourse without the use of condom.

Soon after, Jackson denied the allegations, stating that the accusers had misinterpreted what Jourgansen was saying in her statement. This was followed by a string of highly controversial videos in which Jackson publicly made statements about Jourgansen, and infamously commented that Jourgansen had sex with more than 20 people before him, making her a "slut" and "incapable of being raped."

These statements lead to media headlines, resulting in over 1,000 user videos criticizing Jackson, and over 15,000 YouTube users petitioning either his YouTube Partnership being revoked, or his being banned from the portal entirely, or both. In the wake of the controversy, Jackson lost over 24,000 subscribers on January 13, 2012, which took him approximately six months to re-accumulate.

After receiving numerous death threats aimed at Jackson, as well as front-office members of VidCon if they let Jackson attend, VidCon opted to bar Jackson from their 2012 event, citing that "if it is possible [Jackson] will not be safe, we will not let [him] come." This saw response from Jackson, in which he posted to Facebook, prompting those who had wanted to see him at the event should "demand a refund."

Feud with Smosh and Criticism of King of The Web

In May 2012, Jackson posted two videos in close range of each other, the first accusing the popular YouTube channel Smosh of stealing his material, and the second calling the King of The Web user voting competition a "scam." This prompted much backlash from fans of Smosh, with little response from fans of the King of The Web competition. Neither the front offices of Smosh nor King of The Web acknowledged Jackson's videos.

Personal Life

Jackson has not specified his exact place of birth, but has confirmed his birth date as November 11th, 1985. Jackson's mother was told during pregnancy by her doctors that Jackson had a high rate of birth defect, and should thus be aborted. He has two unnamed sisters.

Jackson married his first wife, Skye Tantaga, in 2005. The two appeared in many videos on Jackson's channel together. The couple separated in 2010 at Jackson's urge. Jackson claimed that the split was amicable, but he later stated that Tantaga had burglarized his home, suggesting that the split was more bitter than he had initially told his viewers. The divorce was finalized in October 2011.

Jackson began a highly publicized relationship with Shiloh Hoganson in 2011. Jackson and Hoganson moved in together early in their relationship. Jackson has said that the two broke up many times, for very brief periods, before splitting for two months in the Summer time of 2011. During this time, Jackson dated Adrienne Jourgansen, a little-known YouTuber he had met online. Following his split from Jourgansen after only some weeks, Jackson had reunited with Hoganson, before they split again in December 2011. The two have not reunited since.