Lately, it seems as though YouTube has been full of nothing but drama and controversy. In fact, between the James Charles and Tati Westbrook feud of the beauty community, or the ongoing Jake Paul and Cody Bo beef, it’s been hard to keep up. Even with all of these scandals, however, there has been one saving grace, one breath of fresh air: the undisturbed presence that’s none other than the pacifying queen of YouTube herself, Jenna Marbles. Or, more specifically, her dogs.
When someone says Jenna Marbles, the first thing that comes to mind is likely comedy, as the 32-year-old YouTube star has been making audiences laugh until their ribs hurt for almost 10 years. But if you ask anyone, the second thing they’d mention would always be her dogs. While her content has grown and evolved over the past decade, the inclusion of Marbles’ dogs in almost all of her videos is one thing that has stayed consistent. From the early days of her channel, when it was just her and her namesake chihuahua, Marbles, to the documentation of the adoption of her two Italian Greyhounds, Kermit and Peach, viewers have followed Marbles on her dog-mom journey as well as become Marbles, Kermit and Peach stans along the way.
Recently, Marbles and her vlogger boyfriend, Julien Solomita, adopted a new dog. The couple had been mentioning their decision to add a new canine friend to their pack for some time, so fans were overjoyed when a video, titled “Meet Bunny Our Rescue Greyhound,” hit Marbles’ channel in late April. The video reached nearly 6 million views on YouTube, and the internet has been obsessed ever since.
The new pup was rescued through Greysave, a non-profit organization that focuses specifically on Greyhounds. Because Bunny was rescued from a rough beginning as a blood donor, she has gradually acclimated to life as a domestic dog. Marbles is using her platform as a means to educate people on the challenges of adopting a new pet, incorporating the trademark sense of humor that makes her so popular.
Fans have been able to watch Bunny adapt to her new environment, as well as see how Marbles’ other dogs are reacting to their new housemate. Although it might not be the typical content one expects to find on Marbles’ channel, she has been sure to keep viewers in the loop with update videos and most recently, a video where Bunny tries various fruits and vegetables for the first time.
Marbles uploaded many videos to showcase her and Solomita’s journey in getting acquainted with Bunny. Surprisingly enough, these videos not only attracted the same amount of traffic to her channel, they were received with positive comments and reactions all around.
In her latest video, Marbles apologized for posting so much content surrounding her new pup, but fans were quick to assure her that Bunny-related videos are actually what everyone wants to see. Bunny trying fruits and vegetables for the first time hit No. 13 on YouTube’s Trending page, and many of the top comments have been from fans reminding Marbles about how much they love her pet features. “The next 50 videos could be about Bunny,” viewer m00n b00tz emphasized, “And I would watch every single one.”
Are Marbles’ dogs the reason behind why she has remained so popular? Many fans likely subscribed to Marbles in the first place for the comedic sketches that brought her into the spotlight, such as “How to trick people into thinking you’re good looking,” which has a whopping 68 million views on YouTube, or her extremely popular “what girls and guys do” series. What keeps people coming back, however, is her charm, which is often highlighted through her interactions with her dogs.
People love to see Marbles having fun and taking care of her pets in a humorous way that everyone can enjoy. Whether she’s teaching her dogs how to swim, giving them a bath while they listen to royalty-free spa music or simply panning to their reactions while she does extravagant makeup on herself or her boyfriend, viewers are looking for something that will make them laugh. Who needs drama and gossip when you can laugh along with your favorite YouTuber and marvel at her adorable dogs?
Fans are so obsessed with Kermit, Marbles and Peach that an entire subgenre has surfaced on YouTube and other established platforms. Dozens of compilation videos and memes featuring the three circulate the internet, largely contributed by JnJ memes, a popular YouTube channel dedicated to poking good fun at Marbles and her dogs.
This trend of making fun of Marbles’ dogs even led her to make a series where she and her boyfriend review various memes starring their family. Viewers can only hope that as Marbles posts more videos about Bunny, fan-made content and creativity will continue to generate this level of support.
The fact of the matter is, as millennials and Gen-Z’ers get older, the content they are looking to watch on major platforms like YouTube changes. While many channels surrounding the original Youtube community have faded into obscurity, Marbles’ has persevered. Her content has evolved drastically, becoming better suited to her own needs and attracting larger audiences. Audiences now look forward to wholesome content that often focuses on things like domestic lifestyle vlogs and controversy-free comedy. So Marbles giving viewers a first-person tour of her unique house plants, trying outrageous DIYs or posting anything and everything that has to do with her pups is exactly what her audience is looking for.
It is clear that as long as Marbles continues to share her life online, people will continue to come back and catch up. For now, the internet is predicting all kinds of kind of shenanigans that Marbles and her dogs might get into, anxiously waiting to tune in to the next video. “Live-Cam of my Dogs for 24 Hours Straight,” perhaps?
