YouTuber IShowSpeed recently had an in-game sexist rant go viral on Twitter, which led to the content creator being punished by a variety of outlets. He was already permanently banned on Twitch a few months back for allegedly threatening a woman on a dating show, but this more recent clip led to a ban by Riot Games.
Riot's game producer Sara Dadafshar tweeted that she had permabanned Speed. She wrote:
"This is a huge yikes and we do NOT want players like this in our community at all. I went ahead and perma banned this player from VALORANT, as well as all other Riot Games."
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IShowSpeed banned across Riot Games' portfolio for sexist tirade
In the clip that ultimately went viral, IShowSpeed yelled at another male player and then a female player, berating them for playing the game and not doing their husband’s dishes. The rant took fire, and though some say it was just trash talk, or that the content creator has matured since that stream originally aired, he was still punished as a result.
Sara Dadafshar, a Riot Games producer, took to Twitter to inform the internet that he had been permanently banned across all of their games.
The YouTuber is well known for his Fortnite gameplay and made a public post to try and get his account back. In the thread that ultimately went viral, Lester Chen, YouTube’s Global Head of Gaming Creators, also spoke up.
As of now, IShowSpeed does not appear to be banned on YouTube, but Riot Games has not relented on their stance.
Social media’s opinion on IShowSpeed’s ban is mixed
The reaction to the YouTuber’s apparent ban across several games appears to be mixed. Some are largely disinterested, his fanbase is upset about it, and others on social media are glad someone was punished for their in-game actions.
One user pointed out that the players Speed berated were being racist towards him in a previous stream and said they should be banned for what they said as well.
A Twitter user hoped that others would get punished for what they say in-game, and not just popular streamers who get publicly called out, and Sara responded to them, saying it’s difficult to catch voice chat-related things, but they’re working on a solution.
That was a sentiment that was agreed upon on social media, with others saying that it’s a shame that it requires a prominent personality to get attention to problems in online gaming.
Some were on the YouTuber’s side though, coming to the defense of Speed.
As of this writing, Speed is still permanently banned across all Riot Games, and the head of YouTube’s Gaming Creators was also looking into it, but no word has been given if the punishment was handed down.
IShowSpeed posts an apology clip
The YouTuber has issued an apology regarding the whole matter. He said:
"I apologized from that girl. I apologize... if that girl wants to hit me up and say anything, you know, I would love to hear her out. I apologize, that's not me. That clip is from months ago. I am sorry man. Peace out."
Twitch streamers xQc and Keemstar have also responded to the issue. Fans can read what they have to say here.
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