Steven “Boogie2988” Williams has nearly 5 million subscribers on YouTube and is considered an important commentator in the gaming space. He has now become embroiled in a feud with another YouTuber, Frank Hassle. This escalated after Hassle came to Boogie’s house and insulted him there. Boogie fired a warning shot from a gun at him.
The individuals involved are:
Steven “Boogie2988” Williams (46) has been active on YouTube since 2006. He became known for the character “Francis”, a parody character: A mega-nerd who rambles about all sorts of things.
Boogie has long been a major YouTuber and has shared his turbulent life with fans over the years. He has struggled with his weight, had gastric bypass surgery, gone through a divorce, and deals with some mental health issues.
Frank Hassle is a significantly smaller content creator who is currently banned from YouTube. He is a troll of the hard kind: His content consists of harassing people and amusing himself over their reactions.
Daniel “Keemstar” Keem is a third YouTuber who acts as a host and tournament organizer, covering current topics from the community while gladly pouring gasoline on any fire he can find. His main show is called “Drama Alert” and lives up to the name.
Boogie has felt harassed by Hassle for 3 months
This is how the feud unfolded: For three months, Boogie has been targeted by Frank Hassle. Hassle has made a joke out of suggesting he would go to Boogie’s home, ring his doorbell, and then do God-knows-what with him.
The YouTube star warned him that if he did that, he would shoot at him. He suffers from an anxiety disorder. Frank Hassle is threatening him. Boogie will protect himself, his property, and his loved ones with the weapon.
Hassle finds this incredibly funny, and every threat seems to only egg him on more.
The roles were clearly defined: Frank Hassle was the aggressor – Boogie from the beginning was on the defensive and in the victim role.
How the feud actually began is not entirely clear. Allegedly, Hassle blames the YouTube star for his own channel being banned on YouTube.
However, Boogie denies this and stated that Hassle had already written on Reddit at the very beginning that he wanted to come to his home. Hassle denies this again.
Apparently, fans have further fueled this conflict: Boogie is someone who currently reacts sensitively to harassment. Frank Hassle is someone who mercilessly harasses people. Apparently, some found it funny to pit one against the other.
“Go ahead, you pussy”
This happened just before the shot: The dispute escalated further on social media. Keemstar got wind of the matter and invited both to a video interview on his show “Drama Alert”. They both hyped each other up even more:
- Frank Hassle hinted that he was already “in Boogie’s town” and would come by soon
- Boogie said on one hand, he should definitely not do that. Hassle triggers an anxiety disorder in him. Boogie said he hadn’t slept for 24 hours. Hassle triggers his post-traumatic stress disorder, and that is all driving him crazy. On the other hand, he also said: He should come by – then he would end Frank Hassle’s life.
The interview was so explosive that Keemstar decided not to publish it right away. He was apparently concerned about Boogie’s mental state, who seemed distressed in the show and made multiple threats.
Ultimately, both had talked themselves into a no-win situation with their public statements: Both had threatened each other and urged the other to carry out the threat.
Apparently, neither wanted to back down now.
Even after the interview, they continued discussing. Boogie calls Hassle a pussy and says “Come on, come on.” He repeatedly threatens to kill him, while Hassle finds this roaringly funny. Keemstar tries to calm Boogie, saying he must realize what kind of troll Hassle is and that the reaction only further eggs him on.
This is how it ended: There are now recordings of Frank Hassle showing up at Boogie’s house and continuing to insult him there. He stands at the front door, rings the bell, yells insults, and calls Boogie cowardly and fat. Hassle demands: “He should shoot” and carry out his threat.
Then you can hear Boogie actually firing a warning shot.
There are only audio recordings of the shot, but apparently, Hassle is indeed impressed by the warning shot and finally leaves the property. Hassle seems unable to believe that Boogie actually has a weapon. The two continue to insult each other further, but the fire is a bit out.
Incident apparently has legal consequences
This is what Boogie says now: In a video, Boogie portrays the other as a “stalker”. He was only defending himself. He uses this as an example of why you should never go to a YouTuber’s house. Someone could have seriously been harmed during the incident.
He cannot say much more about it, as it is now an ongoing police investigation.
Boogie says he has more recordings of the incident, cannot show them on YouTube, but has turned them over to the authorities.
Boogie apparently now wants to sue Hassle and issue him a restraining order, prohibiting Hassle from coming near him (via twitter).
Relentless troll against “Leave me alone already”
This is what it is about: When you watch the interview with the two, you can see how difficult the situation is (via storyfire):
- Boogie apparently has mental health issues and keeps warning people to leave him alone. He sounds like someone who is cornered and sees no way out. He repeatedly calls Hassle a liar and says his accusations are totally unfounded – but that hardly bothers Hassle.
- On the other hand, Frank Hassle keeps laughing and shows absolutely no empathy. He presents himself as someone who finds all of this incredibly funny and who cannot be touched anyway. He stands for everything that is funny, and this is just hilarious.
- Even Keemstar seems to find the situation increasingly uncomfortable, which he has created. He tries to be objective.
From a German perspective, it is quite irritating that Boogie presents it as the most normal thing in the world to shoot at intruders with a weapon. In Germany, one would urgently advise calling the authorities in such a case and not taking the law into one’s own hands.
It seems to be a real danger for YouTubers that fans show up at their homes. In 2018, this happened to a YouTube couple. A mentally disturbed fan was apparently in love with the woman and drove 11 hours to their home. The intruder then died during a shootout with the police:
