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WillNE
WillNE in 2017
Personal information
Born
William Jonathan Lenney

(1996-03-11) 11 March 1996 (age 28)
Whitley Bay, England[1]
NationalityBritish
EducationLoughborough University
OccupationYouTuber
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2012–present
Genres
Subscribers
  • 5.05 million (main channel)
  • 7.28 million (combined)[b]
[2]
Total views
  • 864.03 million (main channel)
  • 1.37 billion (combined)[a]
[2]
100,000 subscribers2016
1,000,000 subscribers2017
Last updated: 27th December 2023

William Jonathan Lenney (born 11 March 1996), better known as WillNE, is an English YouTuber and internet personality based in Newcastle. Lenney's content is noted for both his videos focusing around internet culture and his practical jokes, such as getting a variety of YouTubers to collaboratively sing the song "All Star" without their knowledge, and fooling several media organisations into thinking he was a contestant on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!.[3] Lenney's style of content was described by Vice Media in 2018 as designed for "teenagers hyper-literate on internet culture." In January 2024, Lenney became a co-owner of Quadrant Esports, a content creation and apparel brand founded by Lando Norris.

Early life

William Jonathan Lenney[4] was born on 11 March 1996 and grew up in Whitley Bay, England.[1] He attended Loughborough University, where he studied automotive engineering before quitting in 2016.[1]

Career

Lenney had his first wave of popularity in 2016, when he produced a video on grime music channel BGMedia, and what he considered the poor quality of the child rappers hosted on their channel. The video went viral and increased the size of Lenney's channel.[1]

By September 2016, Lenney's channel had amassed roughly 250,000 subscribers. Around that same time, he left university in order to become a full-time YouTuber on advice from his mother. On 22 December 2017, Lenney's channel reached 1 million subscribers, making him among the 25 most-subscribed British YouTubers.[1]

In November 2018, Lenney attempted to fool various UK-based tabloid media companies into believing that he would be a contestant on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. The campaign was partially successful, with several organisations, including OK! Magazine and Metro, printing stories on the rumors before the full cast of the series was revealed.[5]

In 2019, Lenney went on a tour with fellow YouTuber Stephen Tries, titled This Week On The Internet Live.[6] which in February 2023 he turned into a Weekly pop culture news show.[7]

In January 2020, Lenney made a video in which he pretended to be muscular in photos he posted on Instagram. While producing the video, he received a brand deal offer from a fitness company.[8] In April, Lenney co-launched a collaboration channel[9] with contemporaries ImAllexx, James Marriott and Memeulous, called the "Eboys". The group disbanded in April 2021.[10]

Other ventures

In July 2023, Lenney invested in The Fellas Studios, a production company owned by popular YouTubers Callum Airey and Joshua Larkin.[11] In January 2024, Lenney became a co-owner and investor in the esports, content creation and apparel brand Quadrant Esports, working with Formula One driver and founder Lando Norris as a business partner.[12]

Personal life

Lenney has reflex anoxic seizures and has a seizure at the sight or discussion of gore. He said that he does not have seizures in places where he is comfortable but does in places where he cannot easily leave, like movie theatres or classrooms. He had a seizure at Cody Ko's live show in early 2020.[13]

He currently lives in London.[3]

Philanthropy

In December 2021, Lenney participated in a five-a-side football tournament hosted by YouTuber and sports commentator, True Geordie and Twitch, raising money for the Alan Shearer Foundation.[14] The event managed to raise more than £100,000.[15]

Since 2017, Lenney had participated in the Sidemen charity football matches, playing on the YouTube Allstars team in every iteration and managed to score a goal at the 2022 match.[16][17][18][19]

Notes

  1. ^ Views, broken down by channel:
    864.03 million (WillNE)
    584.76 million (a bit more willne)
    3.2million (WillNE Shorts)
  2. ^ Subscribers, broken down by channel:
    5.01 million (WillNE)
    2.21 million (a bit more willne)
    62.5 thousand (WillNE Shorts)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Zadeh, Joe; Bethell, Chris (22 February 2018). "The Lonely Life of a Professional YouTuber". Vice. Archived from the original on 8 October 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  2. ^ a b "About WillNE". YouTube.
  3. ^ a b Wolfson, Sam (19 October 2019). "'All the hood rats would jam with us': Grandmaster Flash, AJ Tracey and other artists on the generation gap". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  4. ^ "William Jonathan LENNEY personal appointments - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  5. ^ *Osborne, Emma (13 November 2018). "I'm A Celebrity: YouTuber WillNE tipped as latest signing for ITV show as shot of him in jungle attire circles internet". OK! Magazine. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  6. ^ Woods, Jamie (21 April 2019). "Gig Review: This Week On The Internet Live". Insanity Radio 103.2FM. Archived from the original on 22 April 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  7. ^ "This Week On The Internet". Spotify. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  8. ^ Ellis, Phillip (22 January 2020). "This Guy Pretended to Be Swole on Social Media for a Week". Men's Health. Archived from the original on 12 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  9. ^ O’Driscoll, Aoife (21 April 2023). "YouTuber Memeulous: 'I'm better off not showing my face'". Varsity.
  10. ^ "We'd Like to thank you for your support over the year". Twitter. Eboys. 30 April 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  11. ^ Jones, Jess (6 July 2023). "YouTube stars including KSI and Sidemen invest £1.5m in emerging video-podcast studio". CityAM. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  12. ^ Cooper, Adam (22 January 2024). "McLaren F1 driver Norris partners with YouTube star Lenney". Motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 22 January 2024. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  13. ^ Why WillNE Was REMOVED From A CodyKo Live Show, 5 December 2020, retrieved 27 December 2023
  14. ^ Brown, Andy (7 December 2021). "Twitch Rivals hosts charity football stream with some famous faces". NME. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  15. ^ thekickofftg (9 December 2021). "WOW! An incredible £100,000 raised today for the @AlanShearerFndn👏Thank you so much to everybody who watched + donated today, it's fantastic to raise such a big amount for such a great cause ..." Twitter. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  16. ^ Stolworthy, Jacob (9 September 2023). "Sidemen FC charity football match: Which YouTubers will be playing and how can I watch?". The Independent. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  17. ^ Polhamus, Blaine (24 September 2022). "Sidemen Charity Match 2022: Winners, highlights, and funds raised". Dot Esports. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  18. ^ O'DELL, LIAM (4 June 2018). "Sidemen FC Win 7-1 In Football Match Against YouTube Allstars". TenEightyMagazine. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  19. ^ GILLARD, SAM. "Creators to Participate in Sidemen Charity Football Match". TenEightyMagazine. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
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