Did IShowSpeed break his neck? Exploring viral clip of YouTube streamer doing a backflip into a foam pit

Popular YouTube streamer Darren Watkins Jr, better known as IShowSpeed, recently went viral after many of his viewers shared a clip of him doing his signature backflip into a foam pit. The clip was taken from his first IRL broadcast from Germany, and a post by @SpeedUpdates1 with millions of views claimed that Darren had allegedly broken his neck.

In the clip, IShowSpeed can be heard crying out in pain after landing in the pit, with the caption reading:

"Speed broke his neck doing a backflip in Germany"

While the streamer did seem in a lot of pain after the backflip, the claim that he broke his neck is categorically false as he would later clarify that he had just cracked it.

A broken neck, on the other hand, is excruciatingly painful and requires urgent medical intervention. Not only did Darren not see a medical professional after doing the backflip, he also continued to stream for a couple of more hours and showed no apparent discomfort or injury.

In fact, a community note has been attached to the post on X that ascertains this very position:

"IShowSpeed did not break his neck. He continued to stream for another two hours and a half after this."

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IShowSpeed claimed he cracked his neck after doing a backflip into a foam pit

Despite being a variety content creator, Darren has become one of the most popular YouTube streamers who covers football/soccer-related content. The 19-year-old has traveled worldwide from Asia to the Middle East doing IRL broadcasts from football stadiums.

A few days after he attended the FA Cup Final with Amy Flamy, IShowSpeed revealed his intentions of traveling to Germany in June. For the unaware, the UEFA European Championship is currently being held in the country, and fans immediately thought the streamer would be going to the tournament.

While that is quite consistent with the YouTuber's recent endeavors, his first stream in Germany was not from a stadium. Instead, he did a more traditional travel vlog eating Doner Kebab and interacting with German fans on the streets. It was during the stream that he went inside a children's attraction and found a foam pit.

Timestamp 35:00

At the 35-minute mark of the stream, IShowSpeed did the backflip and cried out in pain:

"I swear to God no, I am serious."

This prompted the cheers from the kids to die out, with the streamer clutching his neck and adding:

"Wait, I cracked it for sure. Give me a second, wallahi I cracked it. Give me a second, give me a second. Oh f*ck!"

Darren then directly addressed his audience, claiming he had cracked his neck and would be feeling it in the morning:

"Chat, I am about to feel that sh*t in the morning. I genuinely cracked my f*cking neck."

Naturally, this invalidates all the claims about IShowSpeed having broken his neck, considering he directly noted having merely cracked it. Later on in the stream, he also met up with influencer and football Nader Nader Jindaoui who presented him with a Palestinian soccer jersey.