BELLA THORNE
Bella Thorne is Cuban from her father's side and has confirmed she has Italian and Irish ancestry. Reuters/File

Bella Thorne found out how Twitter can build up a storm after receiving major backlash for her comments about top YouTuber PewDiePie at the 2015 Teen Choice Awards.

The 17-year-old star of the 2008 NBC drama "My Own Worst Enemy" went up the stage to present the "Male Choice Web Star" with her boyfriend Gregg Sulkin. While enumerating the list of nominees, she seemed to have thrown shade at Swedish YouTuber Felix Kjellberg, a.k.a. PewDiePie, for having a complicated-sounding last name and for being absent from the event.

"Felix something, something, something, you know what? Be here if you want to hear the rest of your name," Thorne said . While the award did not go to Kjellberg, it was Thorne's statement that made Twitter blow up.

"You can have bella thorne on stage for 5 mins but you cant even announce the YouTubers who gave you millions of viewers? Weak @TeenChoiceFOX," Ryan Abe, a.k.a. PastaBoy tweeted. "bella thorne threw shade at pewdiepie for not being at the tca. honey, he's more known than you'll ever be. simmer down," mollie ,,!!, a.k.a. Unclearluke posted on her Twitter account.

Kjellberg is one of the most viewed video bloggers today with around 37 million subscribers and more than 2,300 videos on his back since he started in 2009. Digital Spy reports that the Internet star and owner of PewDie Productions AB generated an astounding US$7.4 million (AU$10 million) in revenue in 2014 alone. The Guardian also named the 25-year-old as the 20th most powerful person in U.K. media in 2014.

The YouTube star made the headlines recently after he announced a partnership with Outerminds to develop and release a new game for iOS titled "PewDiePie: Legend of the Brofist." With an online (and offline) cult following, it is no surprise that fans reacted so violently to the Thorne's statement, with some calling her "disrespectful" and "rude."

Thorne immediately came to her defence on Twitter, clarifying that it was all part of the show's humor. "I knew how to say his name. It was part of the script. A joke. I didn't write it. Calm down. Nothing but love for @pewdiepie," the actress posted . Kjellberg has yet to comment on the issue as of this writing.

Contact the writer of this story at feedback@ibtimes.com.au or let us know what you think below.

Bella Thorne makes joke at PewDiePie (Felix Kjellberg) at the 2015 Teen Choice Awards:

Source: YouTube/Teen Choice Awards 2015

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