The gaming YouTuber Darren “IShowSpeed” Watkins is extremely popular, but controversial. Once again, he displays a typical pattern of behavior: he messes up, gets caught, and then says he is terribly sorry. He is still very young.
Who is that?
- “IShowSpeed” is an enormously successful, young content creator: He plays games, raps, is passionate about football, Cristiano Ronaldo, and ways to earn a lot of money very quickly.
- He has a penchant for barking – something a 6-year-old Fortnite player apparently experienced, who was shocked for life by it . Woof Woof.
- IShowSpeed made headlines in the past, 7 months ago, for a drastic verbal slip directed specifically at a woman. This has now resurfaced and bitten him in the butt.
TV station deleted posts with IShowSpeed due to 7-month-old clip
What was the latest uproar? IShowSpeed is an avid football fan and traveled to England to meet his idol, Cristiano Ronaldo.
A British TV station noticed him and included the young star in some live segments, apparently to appeal to a young audience.
The TV station wanted to follow along as the 17-year-old looked forward to meeting Ronaldo and then experienced his disappointment that the Portuguese player wasn’t actually playing.
With him, anger is often just acted out, but Tyler1 has also been successful:
Twitter clip of IShowSpeed yelling at a woman has nearly 12 million views
What went wrong? After the segments aired, Sky Sports apparently realized who exactly they were putting in the spotlight. After all, IShowSpeed was banned from the shooter Valorant in April 2022, after he had insulted a female player in the worst sexist manner.
According to a report from the Daily Mirror, Sky Sports deleted all videos with IShowSpeed after they were pointed out to the misogynistic videos of IShowSpeed: In one, he called a woman a “slut” and told her to “make the dishes for the man.”
It was quite obvious that someone had sent the TV station the Valorant clip from April. The clip is now no secret, as nearly 12 million people have seen it:
“I am 17 – back then I was 16” – IShowSpeed apologizes once again with his age
This is what IShowSpeed says: He now distances himself from his statements that are 7 months old and once again refers to his young age (via twitter):
The clip […] was removed by Sky, and I learned that it was due to the resurfacing of my comments made in the past. I am 17 years old. I was 16 when that happened, and it was a big mistake. It was stupid and immature. I have understood that and apologized. I am working on myself and how I navigate through this world as I grow up online. I acknowledge that I bear the responsibility to set an example for those who follow me and support me.
First the outburst, then the apology – the pattern repeats over and over
What is the problem, that sounds good? The statement seems a bit hollow when you know that IShowSpeed says this after every misstep. Just as he had insulted the female player in April, he afterwards said he was sorry. He is still very young. He is working on himself.
But after every apology, it takes only a short while until the next scandal:
- IShowSpeed seems to always be asking for understanding: He is growing up online. He is so young – everything is difficult. Watkins always sounds understanding and reasonable during the apologies. He says exactly what people want to hear from him.
- While on air and in rage, it seems that there is not much left of the young man who is so understanding. As soon as the camera is on him, he knows no friends.
He also faces fierce backlash: The German Twitch streamer Unge called him a “animal abuser” in July.
Even stranger seems the statement when you know that IShowSpeed apparently tried to sell a crypto coin to his “people who follow him” just a few days ago, an advertisement for which he was clearly paid handsomely, but that also went wrong.
And of course, IShowSpeed said – well, he is very young and still learning:
Update November 23, 2022: On top of everything, Cristiano Ronaldo has now left Manchester United – IShowSpeed is inconsolable and shares this on Twitter.
