"Rightfully deserved": Fans react as Vitaly receives YouTube play button after years of waiting

Vitaly has had an interesting come up, starting off as a YouTuber, and slowly shifting into the livestreaming world, creating quite the scene on Kick where he has a famous "predator-catching" series. The streamer has also had celebrities like Ty Dolla $ign and The Game make guest appearances on the show. With over 10 million subscribers on YouTube, Vitaly has achieved quite the notoriety.

Speaking of YouTube, Vitaly has a controversial presence on the platform. He started his journey making prank videos and then branched off into more daring stunts, like when he streaked at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Many of these acts have led him into trouble with the law over his career. All of this contributed to him crossing the 10 million subscribers mark, back in August 2018.

After a five-year-long wait since then, Vitaly has finally received the Diamond Play button, a token of appreciation from YouTube for reaching the 10 million subscriber milestone.

Vitaly expressed his excitement, finding it hard to believe that YouTube would send the award to him:

"Is this real? Or did you guys buy it from Amazon, and photoshop it?"

Fans reacted to the situation, showering Vitaly with praise, like @easymoneycam1 who commends him for his efforts in catching predators:

"W Vitaly. Rightfully deserved after getting p*dophiles off the streets."

@Ybthanatxs reinforces this, showing support for the streamer:

"Finally getting the recognition he deserves for catching child predators."

Others, like @tronnniel, question why YouTube took so long to decide to gift him the Diamond Play button:

"5 years? 😭😭😭 What was YouTube doing?"

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Vitaly received his 10 million subscriber Play button nearly six years after he reached the milestone

In February 2024, Vitaly spoke on YouTube about not sending him the award:

In the clip, Vitaly expresses how YouTube abstained from sending him the award due to his "image".

Regarding Vitaly's 'image', the streamer has not always had a great reputation online.

He has faced numerous controversies over his career. His recent issues include allegations of racism after making insensitive comments about rapper Quavo during a livestream on Kick.

Despite backlash, Vitaly defended his remarks as "dark humor" and refused to apologize. This is just one of many controversies he's been involved in, including arrests for public stunts like streaking at major sports events and a serious 2020 incident where he was charged with aggravated battery for assaulting a female jogger.

Overall, Vitaly has a history of controversy on the internet, but many continue to support him.