| WillNE | |
| Birth Name: | William Jonathan Lenney |
| Birth Date: | day=11 month=3 year=1996 |
| Birth Place: | Whitley Bay, England |
| Nationality: | British |
| Education: | Loughborough University |
| Occupation: | YouTuber |
| Channel Url: | UCaFUrR3oSxOl5Y9y6tvLTEg |
| Channel Display Name: | WillNE |
| Years Active: | 2012–present |
| Silver Button: | yes |
| Silver Year: | 2016 |
| Gold Button: | yes |
| Gold Year: | 2017 |
| Stats Update: | 27th December 2023 |
William Jonathan Lenney (born 11 March 1996), better known as WillNE, is an English YouTuber and internet personality based in Newcastle. Lenney's content is noted for both his videos focusing around internet culture and his practical jokes, such as getting a variety of YouTubers to collaboratively sing the song "All Star" without their knowledge, and fooling several media organisations into thinking he was a contestant on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. Lenney's style of content was described by Vice Media in 2018 as designed for "teenagers hyper-literate on internet culture." In January 2024, Lenney became a co-owner of Quadrant Esports, a content creation and apparel brand founded by Lando Norris.
William Jonathan Lenney[1] was born on 11 March 1996 and grew up in Whitley Bay, England.[2] He attended Loughborough University, where he studied automotive engineering before quitting in 2016.
Lenney had his first wave of popularity in 2016, when he produced a video on grime music channel BGMedia, and what he considered the poor quality of the child rappers hosted on their channel. The video went viral and increased the size of Lenney's channel.[2]
By September 2016, Lenney's channel had amassed roughly 250,000 subscribers. Around that same time, he left university in order to become a full-time YouTuber on advice from his mother. On 22 December 2017, Lenney's channel reached 1 million subscribers, making him among the 25 most-subscribed British YouTubers.
In November 2018, Lenney attempted to fool various UK-based tabloid media companies into believing that he would be a contestant on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. The campaign was partially successful, with several organisations, including OK! Magazine and Metro, printing stories on the rumors before the full cast of the series was revealed.[3]
In 2019, Lenney went on a tour with fellow YouTuber Stephen Tries, titled This Week On The Internet Live.[4] which in February 2023 he turned into a Weekly pop culture news show.[5]
In January 2020, Lenney made a video in which he pretended to be muscular in photos he posted on Instagram. While producing the video, he received a brand deal offer from a fitness company.[6] In April, Lenney co-launched a collaboration channel[7] with contemporaries ImAllexx, James Marriott and Memeulous, called the "Eboys". The group disbanded in April 2021.[8]
In July 2023, Lenney invested in The Fellas Studios, a production company owned by popular YouTubers Callum Airey and Joshua Larkin.[9] In January 2024, Lenney became a co-owner and investor in the esports, content creation and apparel brand Quadrant Esports, working with Formula One driver and founder Lando Norris as a business partner.[10]
Lenney has reflex anoxic seizures and has a seizure at the sight or discussion of gore. He said that he does not have seizures in places where he is comfortable but does in places where he cannot easily leave, like movie theatres or classrooms. He had a seizure at Cody Ko's live show in early 2020.
He currently lives in London.[11]
In December 2021, Lenney participated in a five-a-side football tournament hosted by YouTuber and sports commentator, True Geordie and Twitch, raising money for the Alan Shearer Foundation.[12] The event managed to raise more than £100,000.[13]
Since 2017, Lenney had participated in the Sidemen charity football matches, playing on the YouTube Allstars team in every iteration and managed to score a goal at the 2022 match.[14] [15] [16] [17]