Japanese cosplayer issues statement after netizens accuse her of being racist toward IShowSpeed in China

A Japanese cosplayer named Chizu (@ChizuCheese8) has been called out by netizens in the wake of a recent controversy involving Darren "IShowSpeed." For context, Speed was confronted by a stream sniper during his stream in Chengdu on March 31, 2025. This particular fan ended up making some egregious comments toward the streamer, including labeling herself as a "n***r killer."

The stream sniper also appeared to be cosplaying a character from Blue Archive (role-playing game). Subsequently, some fans have likened her to the Japanese cosplayer Chizu. The latter issued an official response following the controversy, re-assuring that she is not the person from Speed's stream:

"I have never met IShowSpeed, and I've never been to China. I'm a Japanese cosplayer living in Japan. I do not know who the person in the stream is and we do not look similar at all."

Japanese cosplayer Chizu sends message following recent IShowSpeed controversy (Image via X/@ChizuCheese8)

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What happened during IShowSpeed's IRL stream in Chengdu, China?

IShowSpeed has had a highly successful IRL tour in China, hosting three separate streams in Shanghai, Beijing, and Chengdu. During his most recent stream on March 31, 2025, he encountered a shocking stream sniper who made racist remarks towards him.

At the 2-hour and 50-minute mark of his stream, he was approached by a female stream sniper who said:

"I am racist. I am a n****r killer, I'm so sorry about that. I love your girlfriend because your girlfriend is white people. I love her."

IShowSpeed was naturally quite shocked by this statement and visibly expressed his surprise at the brazen remarks:

"What? Wait, I don't think you understand what you are saying. Do you speak English? (She replied, 'Yes, I am racist.') What? What the f**k? Bro, hell no, what the f**k? What is she saying? What!"

While it doesn't excuse the outlandish comments, netizens have pointed out that the woman was wearing a Blue Archive cosplay, and the character (Saiba Momoi) she was cosplaying is known for using the N-word. One user commented this on the r/LivestreamFail subreddit:

Comment byu/KaleidoscopeLeft3503 from discussion inLivestreamFail

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While most of the attention was focused on his entertaining and energetic streams on IShowSpeed's mostly positive tour, some of his broadcasts were interrupted with racist gestures from locals.

During the same stream in Chengdu, he was handed a banana while fans made monkey noises. This has become a recurring issue in IShowSpeed's streams, with fans openly using the N-word in his presence.