Dream Masks Up Again In Bizarre Video

Dream has had a rollercoaster of a year, ever since he decided to show his face to the world. Up until October 2022, the YouTuber, best known for his content focused on "Minecraft," never appeared on camera without his signature smiley-face mask on. Dream finally revealed what he really looks like in a dramatic series of videos posted last fall, nearly breaking social media with the flood of responses from fans and detractors alike. Now, Dream has announced that he's covering himself back up again and will apparently be returning to a sense of anonymity.

Unlike many of the other faceless streamers in the YouTube game, Dream didn't originally keep his face hidden to protect his privacy. Instead, as he once explained in an interview with Anthony Padilla, his original makeshift mask became part of his persona when his channel unexpectedly exploded in popularity. However, Dream wanted to be able to meet up with his friends and collaborators in real life, as well as host meet-and-greets with fans, so he finally decided to show his face to the entire world.

But although the face reveal was initially a cathartic experience for the YouTuber, the response wasn't entirely positive. Following months of creating content with his face out in the open, Dream is putting the mask back on. Here's why.

In a bizarrely jokey video posted on June 9, Dream explained why and how he'll be going back to using his mask in public appearances. The video begins with Dream scrolling through hundreds of comments from people telling him he looks ugly and that he needs to put his mask back on. This prompts his friends to come in and tell him that, yes, he is ugly, and that he needs to cover his face to bring his viewership back up to its former glory. It's a weird start to a video that just keeps getting weirder, as Dream quickly realizes he cannot simply go back to using his old mask.

After realizing he can't see as well as he'd like to out of his original mask (and dramatically smashing his keyboard against his desk), the video shows Dream reaching out to a mask designer to create a new face for his YouTube empire. According to Dream, the person responsible for making his new mask previously designed masks for Spider-Man, Batman, and Black Panther. It's unclear whether or not these masks were made for cosplayers or feature films starring these characters, but it sounds like they took the job pretty seriously. The resulting 3D-printed mask has apparently been built for comfort. 

Not that Dream looks especially comfortable at the end of the video. As his colleagues celebrate the return of the "old" Dream, the YouTuber seems concerned about whether returning to the mask will make it difficult to meet girls or eat food. A clip of Dream shoving McDonald's fries under his mask seems to put at least one of those concerns to rest, but leaves things on an uncomfortable note.

"After face revealing and removing my mask, I regretted the attention and hate, and am walking it back," Dream explains in the description of his new video. According to Dream, this video is just the first step in the road to reclaiming his anonymity, as the YouTuber will also be deleting all photos that he's posted of himself over the last several months. He has also removed his collaboration video with MrBeast and his original face reveal clip, both of which racked up millions of views when they were originally posted. 

Dream also notes in the description that the plan is to be Dream 24/7 going forward, although it's unclear how serious he is about this point. His message concludes: "thank you all from the bottom of my heart to those that supported me, even though I am ugly. I appreciate you all more than you could ever know, and I will be working on my face while I'm masked again." Again, it's unclear what Dream means by "working on my face," but fans will no doubt be keeping a close eye on his socials for any updates.

And speaking of which: The replies below Dream's newest video has been divided, to say the least. While many fans have expressed their sadness and their hope that he can move past all of the online bullying, others simply aren't buying it. Musician and YouTuber CG5 quipped that he's already anticipating another big face reveal video from Dream. Others have noted that Dream has a new single on the way, and that this new video could just be a sly bit of promotion for the song, "Until I End Up Dead."

Whether or not this is all a hoax, Dream's fans will just have to wait and see — or not see.