Why YouTuber Jack Doherty Is So Controversial

Jack Doherty has long been considered one of the more controversial YouTubers on the platform. However, he's just one of many content creators putting out videos of himself being disruptive. So, what is it about his content that gets so many people riled up?

Doherty posted his first YouTube video back in 2016, just weeks ahead of his 13th birthday. The simple clip saw him flip a marker twice in a row, much to his own surprise — and soon enough, the video began raking in the views. Since then, he's gone on to post hundreds more, and today, his channel is filled with predominantly prank videos. Many of those have seen him kicked out of places, and as he revealed in one video, he's been banned from Walmart stores across the country after filming one too many disruptive videos on their premises. 

Doherty's Walmart escapades haven't been the only thing getting him into trouble over the years, though. Far from it. His neighbors have also been on the receiving end of his pranks from time to time — and many believe he's taken things too far. Among those concerned in the past has been none other than Dr. Phil McGraw. 

In 2020, after a number of brushes with his neighbor — a woman he dubbed "Karen" for her complaints about him going out of his way to upset her with constant drive-bys on his dirt bike — Jack Doherty was brought on to an episode of "Dr. Phil." However, far from marking a turning point, it only seemed to make things worse. 

In the episode titled "Neighborhood Prankster or Menace to Society?" Dr. Phil McGraw brought on Doherty and his father and included an interview with his neighbor, known only as Rachel. In response to the situation with Rachel, McGraw pointed out, "When you start targeting one person repeatedly, it shows me the fact that you're being a bully." Doherty was unmoved. In fact, when Rachel herself was brought on to share her side of things, he implied that he could have done worse. "I am sorry for, uh, riding my dirt bike by your house, but I also could have posted her face on the internet," he quipped. 

Doherty's spot on "Dr. Phil" was ultimately cut short by McGraw after he argued against the advice he was given. He subsequently recorded a YouTube reaction video with his parents and claimed he had been set up from the start. However, he ended the video with the quip, "I don't care, Dr. Phil, I only went on the show for publicity." Yikes. 

In the wake of his "Dr. Phil" episode, Jack Doherty took his neighbor a gift basket as an apology. However, he also made it clear in a YouTube video that it was purely his way of trolling the TV star and his nemesis in one go. "I'm doing this to make Dr. Phil happy, not because I really want to apologize to her. You know, I really don't, I don't really care," he said. 

Doherty ultimately moved away from Rachel when he moved out of his parent's home. However, the neighbor trolling didn't stop there. Far from it, when he relocated to Beverly Hills with his friends, he had repeatedly filmed run-ins with the husband and wife next door. That led to a series of filmed confrontations with his landlord's son. And ultimately, his eviction. While Doherty said in a YouTube video that there were several mutual reasons why he opted to end the lease early, it certainly seems as though the filmed interactions did the trick. After all, after filming and uploading a video of their first meeting without his consent, the landlord's son demanded the videos be taken down, or he'd face eviction. Perhaps it goes without saying, but in addition to the videos staying up, the footage of that follow-up interaction was posted to YouTube. 

So, why is Doherty so controversial? It may have something to do with him being the YouTube equivalent of "Bad Neighbors."