The controversial YouTube streamer Darren “IShowSpeed” Wattkins (17) is involved in yet another scandal. He bet with a six-year-old boy for $100 on who would win a duel in Fortnite . When the boy lost and couldn’t pay, the situation escalated. IShowSpeed barked at the boy for 35 seconds at the top of his lungs. The boy whimpered and cried. The streamer believes he taught the boy a valuable lesson for life. Critics are horrified.
Who is the streamer?
- IShowSpeed is one of the most successful young gaming creators on YouTube: He is a talented shooter player and rapper who has fueled his YouTube channel with TikTok. Speaking of fire: Recently, he set his room on fire, but that’s just how things go.
- The 17-year-old from Cincinnati, Ohio, is immensely successful but regularly causes outrage and scandals: He was banned from Valorant after making sexist remarks there.
- Recently, the German Twitch streamer Unge called him a “animal abuser”.
IShowSpeed bets with a 6-year-old for $100 on who wins a 1vs1 in Fortnite
This is the latest incident IShowSpeed made a money bet of $100 with a boy during a live stream on YouTube on July 29 in Fortnite. The boy sounded childish, but IShowSpeed apparently didn’t realize how young his opponent really was for a long time.
Such money bets in Fortnite are expressly not desired by the operator Epic and they are also taking action against it. However, among young Fortnite creators, the money bet, the “wager”, is popular to add extra excitement to duels.
When IShowSpeed won the duel, he quickly realized that the boy could not pay. The streamer appeared annoyed and pressed for details. The boy then explained that he had to ask mom and dad if they would give him the money.
The streamer slowly asked skeptically how old the boy was and seemed shocked when it turned out that the boy was only 6 years old.
Others would have apologized and left it at that – but IShowSpeed is different.
The situation threatened to escalate:
- IShowSpeed threatened to call the police and send the boy to jail
- When the boy was close to tears, it seemed to concern IShowSpeed. He didn’t want that.
- IShowSpeed calmed the 6-year-old down. He wouldn’t do that. But the boy had to understand that his behavior has consequences.
For 35 seconds, the streamer yells at the completely distraught boy
This is how it escalated: When the situation seemed to be resolved, IShowSpeed suddenly began barking like a dog for 35 seconds while the boy was audibly shaken, whimpering and unable to cope.
IShowSpeed not only barked but seemed to want to completely imitate a dog, contorting his face, stretching his face into the camera, and sounding truly frightening and filled with anger.
In the end, the streamer yelled: “Teach your children what is right and what is wrong!”
The streamer apparently believes he taught the boy a “lesson for life”
This is how IShowSpeed sees it: He continued after the action and apparently viewed it as an educational achievement to have brought the boy to tears.
He told his viewers with a smile:
“I won’t send the police after him. Of course not: He’s 6 years old. If you have a 6-year-old brother and he does something wrong? Do you let it slide? No! What I did to the boy, he will never forget for the rest of his life. He will grow up to be a great guy. I taught him what is right and what is wrong.”
3.5 million people watch the live stream with the crying boy
What do others think? Others who are not his fans watch in disbelief and horror at IShowSpeed’s interaction with the boy:
- It is believed that he traumatized the boy
- People consider IShowSpeed’s behavior to be “disgusting”
- The boy apparently doesn’t even know what a “bet” is
However, there are also some who defend IShowSpeed and see the misconduct with the boy’s parents: A 6-year-old has no place in Fortnite.
There is already quite a bit of misconduct among streamers, but IShowSpeed is a brand of its own:
This is the controversy: IShowSpeed has been involved in controversies repeatedly. He apologizes for his behavior with his “very young age” and promises to improve.
His fans who defend him say: He is only criticized so frequently and harshly because he is black – clear racism is part of the criticism. The esports journalist Jake Lucky seems to want to “cancel” the streamer deliberately, which is why he reports so often on the young man’s misconduct. Lucky is now openly attacked on Twitter by fans of the streamer.
The fact that IShowSpeed is in the media spotlight and under criticism so often is probably more due to his enormous reach: Alone the video in which he yells at the boy has now been seen by 3.5 million people.
Hopefully, no one takes the streamer’s behavior and his educational achievements as a model.
Also controversially discussed is the behavior of another 17-year-old in Fortnite:
17-year-old Fortnite pro gets love tips from the completely wrong man on Twitch
