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YouTube star Darren "IShowSpeed" has once again landed in hot water. This time around, the controversy stemmed from his livestream during the FIFA World Cup match between Portugal and Switzerland on December 6, 2022.
At one point during his livestream, the 17-year-old interacted with a Chinese man at the venue and asked him why he was donning an Argentina jersey. When the man appeared confused by the question, the streamer responded with the Japanese greeting, "Konnichiwa."
The incident went viral on social media platforms, with a reaction thread on Reddit receiving over 1,500 comments:
IShowSpeed took to Twitter on December 7, 2022, to respond to the racist allegations and apologize to the Asian community. He stated:
"If I offended any Asian person out there, trust me, man, I'm not racist. I love Asians. I love all, man. So... I apologize if they came out that way. Love you guys. Peace out. Hope you accept my apology."
IShowSpeed provides context for viral clip from his World Cup 2022 livestream
IShowSpeed shared a 01:34-minute address on Twitter on December 7, 2022. He started the discussion by talking about the clip in question and provided some context:
"Hey guys! There's a clip going around where people are saying I'm being racist to an Asian guy. You know? I just wanted to say some things, you know? I wasn't being racist to him. I promise you! I've seen him. I thought he was Japanese, so I said, 'Konichiwa.'"
The Ohio native stated that when he discovered the man's nationality, he attempted to use the nickname given to him by his Chinese fans:
"When I found out that he was Chinese, you know, I tried to say the nickname they call me in Chinese. I was just literally talking to a Chinese person, earlier today, at 433, and they said they love me. And I love Chinese people, so I tried to say (a Chinese word), like, this is a nickname that they call me in China. I promise you."
He then asserted that he was not being racist:
"If it came off as racist, I promise you, I did not mean it that way. You know? I got adrenaline pushing. I'm making content. Loud streaming. I'm at the World Cup, watching Ronaldo play. Adrenaline pushing. I'd seen him with an Argentina shirt and you know, I just wanted to say, 'What's up,' to him. You know, I love other races. I really didn't mean to come of as racist."
The YouTuber concluded his address by stating that he loves Asian fans and was not trying to be racist during the World Cup livestream.
Fans react to IShowSpeed's apology
IShowSpeed's response to the racist allegations received a lot of attention on Twitter. It had over 70,000 community likes and more than 1.4k comments.
Here are some of the reactions to it:
IShowSpeed's World Cup 2022 livestream was a huge success, with a peak viewership of 320,000 fans, breaking his all-time viewership record.
