During a recent YouTube video, Felix “PewDiePie” Kjellberg revealed that police recently visited his home in the UK after he purchased a Balisong knife online via Wish. As you may know, the Balisong knife is illegal in the UK, like it is in some states in the US. For PewDiePie, the Balisong is used as a fidget toy. During his videos and streams, you can sometimes see him fidgeting with it. And this is presumably what he told the police when they came knocking on his door to enquire why he was purchasing a balisong knife online.
“I had the great idea of trying to buy a balisong,” said PewDiePie “Because I like them. They’re fun to play with. It’s awesome. Well, don’t do that. Do not buy a balisong. The cops came to my house and they told me I was bad and I shouldn’t have done that. So, I am sorry.”
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PewDiePie added that it may be a cultural thing, given that he’s from Sweden where “it’s a tool, not a weapon.” Obviously, this is not the reputation of the Balisong in England. And for what it’s worth, it’s not the knife’s reputation in the United States either, where it’s more commonly referred to as a Butterfly knife and very commonly viewed as nothing but a weapon.
For those that don’t know: the Balisong knife is known around the world as a Butterfly knife, or sometimes as a fan knife or Batangas knife. A type of folding pocketknife that actually originated in the Philippines, it’s illegal or restricted in many countries, and is commonly associated with crime. That said, apparently, nobody told PewDiePie this. Fortunately, for the YouTuber, it seems like nothing came from his run-in with the law.
PewDiePie notes that the whole ordeal caused him considerable stress and encouraged him to invest in some actual fidget toys that aren’t illegal.ย
As always, feel free to share your thoughts and hot-takes in the comments section or, alternatively, hit me up on Twitter @Tyler_Fischer_ and let me know over there. Did you know that the Butterfly knife is illegal in many places?
