The German YouTuber Max “HandOfBlood” Knabe (30) is known for creative videos. He recently played the indie hit Stray with full physical commitment and drank milk from a bowl. This caused a stir on Twitter.
Who is HandOfBlood?
- HandOfBlood, who appears on Twitter as “Hänno”, has 2.4 million subscribers among the most successful gaming YouTubers in Germany
- In his videos, he takes on the most absurd roles and costumes and takes on crazy challenges
- On August 1, 2022, he celebrated his 30th birthday and filmed a video about the indie hit Stray
- In doing so, he delivered a disturbingly brilliant performance as a cat and received criticism from animal rights activists
In Stray, you play as a cat exploring a dystopian city full of androids in search of your family. Stray even offers its own button for meowing. If that still hasn’t convinced you, take a look at the video:
Hänno suffers for his video
Which video caused the stir? In the video released on August 7, Hänno plays the cat game Stray. For this, he wears a cat costume that looks like it was made from the fabric of nightmares. And he acts like a cat.
In imitating the cat, the YouTuber holds nothing back: He meows and purrs to his heart’s content, chases a laser pointer, and plays with a ball of yarn. He also snacks on cat food and slurps some milk from a bowl.
What does Hänno think of the game? He didn’t seem to have a lot of enthusiasm for the indie favorite. You just play as a cat, and that was about it. And therein lay the problem, as he admitted that he couldn’t really relate to cats.
The hour and a half it allegedly took him to turn into a cat probably didn’t help. Consequently, he concludes: “A new low point in my life has been reached.”
However, the suffering was not entirely in vain: The video has already reached over 220,000 views and numerous fans are celebrating him in the comments for his dedication. Pure entertainment from Hänno. (via YouTube)
Animal rights activists upset about milk
What are the animal rights activists upset about? On Twitter, there were some negative reactions from animal rights activists. They criticized Hänno even before the video was released under a post from August 6, in which he was seen slurping milk from a bowl. (via Twitter)
The criticism:
- The portrayal of cats that are crazy about milk is widespread. However, milk is actually not good for adult cats, as they cannot digest the lactose it contains.
- The milk in question was cow’s milk. This is often produced under questionable circumstances. Animal rights activists were therefore concerned that someone with a large reach was “promoting” a product from factory farming. Especially animal rights activists who live vegan criticize the use of cow’s milk.
Particularly puzzling for some was that many fans apparently thought Hänno followed a vegan or at least vegetarian diet. In fact, he had posted about meatless meals in the past and had spoken out against factory farming. (via Twitter)
The outrage continued when Hänno posted a clip in which he tried wet cat food. The judgment of a Twitter user: “It’s really sad to throw away your moral values for a few clicks.” Moreover, wet cat food is just scraps.
But others also did not take the footage well. However, it seemed less about animal welfare to them. They simply found the act “disturbing and really disgusting.” (via Twitter)
Were there also positive opinions? Not everyone was bothered by Hänno’s culinary excursion. Many fans celebrate him precisely for this quirky humor and express their admiration for the effort the YouTuber puts into his videos.
How did Hänno react? On YouTube, he posted a comment briefly addressing the criticism regarding the milk. There, he linked to an article explaining why milk is actually not good for cats. He has not yet made a statement regarding the allegations about his diet.
What do you think of the action? Are you now really in the mood for a glass of milk, or has your appetite vanished for the time being? Feel free to leave us a comment with your opinion.
HandOfBlood is probably not a big fan of the indie adventure Stray. However, it has managed to convince many users on Steam and also among cats and dogs, the game is incredibly well received.
