The Fine Bros are currently engaged in an explosive internet controversy surrounding their usage of copyright and trademark law.
Update: The Fine Bros have finally decided to completely abandon their plans.
If you missed it, click here to read about how The Fine Bros are trying to trademark the generic word “REACT” – and click here to read about how a lawyer wants to fight them.
After their actions went viral on Reddit, the internet decided to collectively rage against The Fine Brothers.
The Fine Bros Lose Subscribers, Get Overloaded with Dislikes
The Fine Bros’ controversy was so big that a ton of fans decided to unsubscribe from their main channel.
In fact, they lost over 115,000 subscribers on their main channel in just one day, according to Socialblade. Tens of thousands of people also unsubscribed from their REACT channel as well.
Update: They are on track to lose MORE subscribers today than yesterday.
Someone even decided to make a LIVE STREAM of their plummeting subscriber numbers. As of writing, you can watch the live stream video below to see The Fine Bros’ subscriber count dropping in real-time.
Additionally, their videos are getting completely flooded with dislikes. In the Teens React to Fuller House video, over 210,000 people have already disliked it!
The Fine Bros React to All the Drama
Originally, The Fine Brothers thought that angry fans were going to stay quiet after a few PR tweets and Facebook posts.
Unfortunately for them, they severely miscalculated the backlash – and made things way worse. To fix their mistake, the pair decided to post an update video to tackle some of the most controversial points of contention.
This video has over 210,000 dislikes, as well.
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They opened the video by apologizing for their PR doublespeak and intentional attempts at muddying the waters. They begged fans to hear them out.
The video doesn’t seem to have worked, and fans commented that they looked like they were “ready to punch somebody”.
The Fine Bros Finally Admit to Trademarking the Generic Word “React”
The Fine Brothers finally admitted that they applied for multiple trademarks, including one for the generic word “REACT”.
However, they were unapologetic.
They mentioned that they had a YouTube channel titled “REACT”. They said that the generic “REACT” trademark was a necessity to protect the channel from takeovers.
Remember when Matthew Lush’s channel URL was snatched away by Lush Cosmetics?
The Fine Bros said that they were not going to use the generic trademark to take down videos – but they still could, potentially. Because of this, a lawyer rallied Reddit to help stop the trademark from being published.
The Fine Bros Admit They HAVE Taken down Other People’s Reaction Videos
The Fine Bros are often very vocal about other people “stealing” their reaction videos. For example, they have repeatedly called out BuzzFeed and Ellen DeGeneres for making reaction videos.
In their update video, the pair finally admitted that they have tried to take down other people’s reaction videos.
This comes as no surprise, since they previously admitted that their legal team was going to snatch down videos.
Judging by the fan reaction, it looks like The Fine Bros’ latest controversy is only just beginning.
Update: The Fine Bros Backpedal
Click here to read about what happened next.