5 times IShowSpeed did questionable things on the livestream

Darren "IShowSpeed" might just be one of the biggest YouTube streamers out there, having recently crossed 14 million subscribers and breaking his personal best streaming record with his recent World Cup stream, which reached a whopping 350K+ viewership.

His meteoric rise in the YouTube ranks to become one of the most well-known content creators in the world at just 17 years of age is quite an extraordinary tale. He even won the Breakout Streamer award at this year's Streamys.

However, during his journey, he has been part of multiple controversies which have had lasting effects on his career. Here are five times IShowSpeed did questionable things on stream,

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IShowSpeed's five most controversial or questionable moments on live stream

5) Lighting Fireworks on stream

IShowSpeed is primarily known for his high-octane streams where the streamer's highly dramatized reactions serve as the primary mode of entertainment for the viewers. Popular for his over-the-top demeanor, the American's stream frequently features cussing and physical challenges such as duck lips or the time he infamously lit fireworks inside his room.

On this year's 4th of July stream, Darren showcased a large number of fireworks and crackers assembled on his bed behind the camera and decided to light a Pikachu cracker inside the room for his audience. Despite his mods and fans repeatedly asking him not to do it, the streamer lit it on fire and pandemonium ensued.

Timestamp 46:12

Thankfully, the cracker fizzles out without causing any more damage to the house, but between IShowSpeed's screams for help and the cracker bursting, the scene understandably went viral over the internet. Eventually, the firemen had to come to take stock of the situation.

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4) Promoting scammy cryptocurrency

The streamer was in hot waters in November when he streamed while visiting the UK, where he promoted a shady cryptocurrency project called Paradox Metaverse. The organization's business model was labeled as too scammy by many in his audience, and when the experts weighed in, all hell broke loose.

Coffeezilla's interview with the coordinators of the project gained high notoriety on Twitter and YouTube when he basically called Paradox a Ponzi scheme which advertises a get-rich-quick policy to its potential customers without any proper guarantee. For an in-depth breakdown of the alleged scam, read this.

IShowSpeed was caught in the crossfire and immediately distanced himself from the cryptocurrency after backlash from the community. Since then, he has apologized multiple times to his fans, vehemently claiming that he is not a scammer.

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3) Racist interaction in the World Cup

The most recent incident on this list was IShowSpeed's controversial interaction with a Chinese man during the World Cup. The YouTuber traveled to Qatar to watch his idol Cristiano Ronaldo play and was streaming from the Lusail Stadium where Portugal vs Sweden round of 16 was being hosted.

During the live stream, he spoke with a stranger who was wearing an Argentina jersey and kept using the word "Konnichiwa" despite the man repeatedly asserting that he was not Japanese but spoke "Chinese". When the YouTuber finally registered the difference, what he did was worse.

The gibberish syllables he used to talk back to the man have been seen as offensive Asian stereotyping by many online. IShowSpeed, however, has maintained that he was trying to say a word in the language.

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Trigger Warning: Misogyny, mention of sexual assault ahead

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2) Misogynist rant on Valorant

The streamer made headlines earlier this year when clips of him interacting with a female teammate went viral for his toxic misogyny. IShowSpeed's teammates had just criticized him for not playing well when he started shouting at them, calling one a "monkey." But when a woman on his team spoke back to him, the streamer went on an unhinged rant about women and their place in society:

"What b*tch? Is a b*tch talking to me? Is a female talking to me? Get off the f*cking game and do your husband's dishes b*tch."

After extensively sharing, Riot banned the YouTuber from all of their games. He has since apologized for his actions, blaming it on a bad day.

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1) The r*pe joke which got him banned from Twitch

The most egregious of things done by IShowSpeed on stream would probably be his sexual assault joke on Adin Ross's e-dating stream over on Twitch. While talking to Ash Kaash on a Discord call which was being live-streamed, he asked a hypothetical question where he and Ash were the last two people on Earth and posed a question regarding them repopulating the earth.

Ash rejected that idea, concerned with inbreeding, but what IShowSpeed did next would get him a lifetime ban from Twitch. He asked:

"Who gonna stop me?"

Implying that he would force himself on her. When Ash said that she would stop him, he doubled down and repeated the above sentence even more menacingly.

The last two incidents alone have caused quite some complications in Darren's life, such as Sky Sports cutting ties with him after clips of the streams resurfaced.