Who is Sam Pepper, YouTuber who sparked controversy after injuring 8-year-old with Diwali fireworks in India?

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In a statement to HT.com, Pepper expressed remorse over the incident. “I feel very ashamed of my actions and regret not thinking more carefully. I’m sorry to the girl I hurt and I’m thankful it was just a cut, as my actions could have caused a lot worse. I’m sorry for what I caused in India. I love India and have spent over four months there travelling over the years,” he said.

According to Dexerto, the incident led to Pepper being banned from the livestreaming platform Kick and the crypto platform Pump.fun.

Pepper also addressed the situation on X, acknowledging the injury but downplaying its severity. “Was in India tonight with another big group firing small firecrackers back and forth at each other, seems stupid now I’m writing this. But one of the group on the other side got hit by a cracker I shot and got a cut above their eyebrow. I feel terrible, we sent someone with them to get them checked out and made sure all costs were paid, they got a paper stitch, and are now back home,” he wrote.

Was in India tonight with another big group firing small fire cracker back and forth at Each-other, seems stupid now I’m writing this. But one of the group on the other side got hit by a cracker I shot and got a cut above their eye brow. I feel terrible, we sent someone with them…

— Sam Pepper (@sampepper) October 20, 2025

When shown a video suggesting the girl may have lost an eye, Pepper maintained, “Yeah this guy was being dramatic, still feel terrible anyone got hurt. But it was just a cut luckily.”

Who is Sam Pepper?

Samuel Nicholas Pepper, better known as Sam Pepper, is a 36-year-old British content creator and former reality TV figure. Born on 26 March 1989 in Ashford, Kent, England, he has a mixed heritage, being half Greek.

Pepper first came into the public eye in 2010 as a contestant on the 11th season of Big Brother UK. On YouTube, he initially gained a following through extreme prank videos that leaned heavily on shock humour and elaborate stunts. While these videos helped him rise in popularity, they also sparked significant backlash for “crossing ethical boundaries,” drawing criticism from viewers and the wider public alike.