YouTube star Shay Carl of Pocatello says he won’t be on internet after scandal

POCATELLO — YouTube celebrity Shay Carl recently posted on his Twitter account that he will be entering rehabilitation for alcoholism and he will not be on the internet for the foreseeable future.

Carl’s Tweet was posted on Sunday. The next day a story ran on an international news website about Carl allegedly exchanging sexual messages with an adult webcam model.

Carl, whose real name is Shay Butler, said on Twitter that the reason he has not been uploading video blogs recently is due to his addiction to alcohol. Though the 36-year-old admitted to quitting alcohol in the past, he said on his official Twitter page that he started drinking again three months ago.

“I have struggled with alcoholism for years,” Carl’s Twitter post read. “I thought I was able to escape addiction & it’s associated demons, but that disease has manifested itself back into my life (due to my decisions) because it is a life long disease.”

Carl, who grew up in and resides in Pocatello, is famous for his various YouTube channels. His main channel, titled SHAYTARDS, has almost 5 million subscribers and regularly includes videos featuring himself, his wife and their five children.

In Sunday’s Twitter post, he mentions his family as a motivating force in his decision to seek help.

“I am not making excuses,” Carl stated on Twitter. “I have a problem. This problem has hurt the ones I love most because I delayed the decision to get help. My wife, friends and family are by my side. My purpose is to rehab. It’s my only priority. I will not be on the internet.”

It is unclear for how long Carl plans to stay off the internet or whether he will continue with SHAYTARDS or his other YouTube channels at some point in the future.

Carl’s Tweet about his alcohol addiction was posted Sunday, and on Monday the International Business Times, an online news website visited by 40 million people each month, ran a story about Carl allegedly exchanging sexual messages through Twitter with an adult webcam model named Aria Nina.

On Sunday, Nina posted pictures of the explicit messages she claims were from Carl.

The Journal was unable to get a hold of Carl for comment.

Carl was most recently in the news late last year when he purchased the Pebble Creek Ski Area near Inkom.

Carl said via Twitter on Sunday: “I’ve been lying to myself. My heart is sick. It’s been impossible to keep up this perfect ‘happiness is a choice’ mentality. I can’t do it anymore.”

This story first appeared in the Idaho State Journal. It is used here with permission.