A centered frame from the Calling Kobe Bryant at 3AM video showing ItsJack's shocked expression with meme title and hashtags.

Calling Kobe Bryant At 3Am

2020YouTube controversy / 3AM challenge videodead

Published March 24, 2026

Also known as: Calling Kobe At 3AM · 3AM Kobe Bryant Challenge

"Calling Kobe Bryant At 3AM" refers to a pair of widely condemned YouTube videos uploaded on January 27, 2020, one day after NBA legend Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash. YouTubers Jolto and ItsJack each faked phone calls and text conversations with the deceased basketball star, claiming he was still alive. The videos sparked immediate outrage across social media, leading both creators to delete their channels within days.

youtube culture memes basketball memes memorial memes content farm memes celebrity backlash memes

Overview

The "Calling Kobe Bryant At 3AM" videos followed a well-established YouTube format known as the "3AM Challenge," where creators pretend to contact celebrities, fictional characters, or deceased people through phone calls, text messages, or Ouija boards at 3 AM. The format typically involves staged text conversations, distorted voice effects on fake phone calls, and sensationalized titles promising shocking results.

In this case, two separate YouTubers applied the format to Kobe Bryant within hours of his death being publicly announced, making the videos particularly offensive to viewers. Both videos used nearly identical setups: claiming to find Bryant's phone number on the "dark web," showing fabricated text messages, and staging fake phone calls with distorted voices13.

Origin & Background

Platform
YouTube
Key People
Jolto / Josh Giles, ItsJack / Jack Martin
Date
2020

On January 26, 2020, Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and seven other passengers died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California2. The tragedy shocked the sports world and prompted an outpouring of tributes from celebrities and fans alike, with several stars honoring Bryant at the 2020 Grammy Awards that same evening3.

The following day, January 27, 2020, YouTuber Jolto (real name Josh Giles) uploaded a video titled "CALLING KOBE BRYANT AT 3 AM! *OMG HE ACTUALLY ANSWERED* (HES NOT DEAD)"4. In the video, Jolto opened with a brief acknowledgment of Bryant's death before pivoting to his stunt. "If you didn't already know the world-famous basketball player Kobe has unfortunately passed away and I just want to say all my thoughts and prayers to his family guys," he said. "This is honestly so sad... Well, without further ado let's try and have a conversation with him"3.

Jolto claimed he obtained Bryant's phone number from the "dark web" and showed fabricated text messages on screen. The fake texts said Bryant "didn't want anything to do with the mainstream media anymore" and was "looking for a way out"1. He then staged a phone call where a distorted voice said "Help me. I told you not to call"3. Throughout the video, Jolto repeatedly said he felt "so bad" about what he was doing while also offering to "leak" Kobe's number in the comments3.

That same night, another YouTuber named ItsJack (real name Jack Martin) posted an almost identical video making the same claims2. ItsJack promised to share the supposed phone number if viewers liked the video and subscribed, while also insisting "no ads will be on this video because I don't think I should be making money from this video"3.

How It Spread

The backlash was immediate and fierce. On January 27, DramaAlert host Keemstar tweeted a screenshot of one of the videos with the caption "Fucking scumbags," a post that picked up over 55,300 likes and 4,000 retweets within two days4. Shortly after, Keemstar followed up: "After I tweeted this, He's now hyping his apology video now!!! You can't make this shit up. Kids will literally do and say anything for clout!" That second tweet collected over 12,100 likes4.

Also on January 27, YouTuber Jaackmaate (real name Jack Dean) tweeted Jolto's video with a direct plea to the platform: "Can you actually fucking do something about this? Take a stand for once @YouTube — cunts like this are destroying your platform." The tweet received over 8,400 likes and 600 retweets4. Strictly Come Dancing star Saffron Barker described the videos as "so f*cked up" in her own tweet2.

The controversy spilled onto Reddit the same day, where user ethanlou posted a "Press E to launch that little shit" meme to r/dankmemes, earning over 520 upvotes4. Multiple news outlets covered the story within days, including Dexerto1, PopBuzz3, and Metro2.

Both Jolto and ItsJack deleted their YouTube channels in the aftermath. Before removing his account, ItsJack admitted he had "messed up" and said he would post an apology video3. Jolto's original video was re-uploaded by other channels across YouTube after his channel went down1. At the time of Metro's reporting, ItsJack's channel (with over 17,000 subscribers) was briefly still accessible with the video unlisted before being fully removed2.

YouTuber WillNE, while acknowledging the video was offensive, urged viewers not to "witch hunt" the young creator, calling the upload a "dumb mistake" that would hopefully teach him a lesson1. Jolto also filed a privacy complaint against WillNE's commentary video about the incident, which WillNE publicly called out3.

How to Use This Meme

This is not a meme template that people recreate. The "Calling Kobe Bryant At 3AM" videos are instead a cautionary example of the 3AM Challenge format taken too far. The broader 3AM Challenge format typically involves:

1

Choose a subject (celebrity, fictional character, or in controversial cases, a recently deceased person)

2

Film yourself at 3 AM in a dark room for atmosphere

3

Claim to have found a phone number through the "dark web" or similar

4

Show staged text messages with sensational claims

5

Fake a phone call using voice distortion effects

6

Title the video with all-caps clickbait promising shocking results

Cultural Impact

The incident fit into a broader pattern of YouTube creators exploiting celebrity deaths for views that was already under scrutiny in early 2020. Multiple commenters and outlets compared Jolto and ItsJack to JayStation, a YouTuber who had recently faced backlash for faking his girlfriend Alexia Marano's death and then "contacting" her via Ouija board13.

The controversy highlighted YouTube's ongoing moderation challenges around death exploitation content. Jaackmaate's tweet directly challenged the platform to take action4, and the incident became one of several high-profile cases where community backlash forced channel deletions before YouTube itself intervened.

The timing of the videos, uploaded mere hours after the crash was confirmed, was a significant factor in the public anger. As one Twitter user put it: "Literally mere hours after Kobe Bryant died, there was one of those fucking 3AM videos made about it. How low do you have to fucking stoop man?"3

Fun Facts

Jolto filed a false privacy complaint against WillNE's video criticizing the stunt, which WillNE publicly exposed on Twitter3.

ItsJack's channel had over 17,000 subscribers at the time of the controversy2.

Despite claiming the video wasn't for money, ItsJack still asked viewers to like and subscribe in exchange for "leaking" the phone number3.

The original videos were quickly re-uploaded by other YouTube channels after Jolto and ItsJack deleted theirs1.

One Twitter user described Jolto's content as "what you get if Morgz and Jarvis fucked and had a kid that did JayStation content"3.

Frequently Asked Questions