YouTuber IShowSpeed ​​responds to accusations of anti-Asian racism

[ad_1]

Darren Watkins Jr., known online as IShowSpeed, is a gaming YouTuber with 14 million subscribers. Watkins Jr. faced backlash earlier this week for comments he made to a man who said he was Chinese. Online users have accused the YouTuber of racism for repeatedly addressing the man with a Japanese greeting. LoadingSomething is being loaded.

Thank you for your registration!

Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed on the go. download app

A controversial gamer with 14 million subscribers who came under fire for comments he made to a Chinese man on a livestream has said he did not intend his words to be offensive or perceived as racist.

Darren Watkins Jr., who goes by the online moniker IShowSpeed, faced backlash after a clip from one of his YouTube live streams went viral on Twitter.

The clip was taken from a two-and-a-half-hour livestream posted by Watkins Jr. on Dec. 6, in which he recounted his experience attending a World Cup soccer match in Qatar.

Toward the end of the live stream, the 17-year-old YouTuber addressed a man walking past him wearing an Argentinian jersey, repeatedly saying the word “konnichiwa,” which is a Japanese greeting. The man responded by saying he was Chinese. The YouTuber then repeated the word “konnichiwa” at a louder volume.

Many on Twitter, including people who said they belong to East Asian communities, accused Watkins Jr. of “racist” behavior towards Asians because they said he made assumptions about the man’s background.

Klow (@KLOWSII) December 7, 2022

Some users also referenced a short series of unintelligible sounds Watkins Jr. made near the end of the clip, saying they thought he sounded like he was “imitating” and mocking a Chinese accent.

Kcin. (@Kcin_Point) December 7, 2022

“Assuming an Asian person’s country of origin, assuming their language and even making fun of it is no fun. It’s racist,” one user said.

Kristofer Yee, a Chinese-Hungarian American Twitch streamer with 300,000 followers, responded to the clip in a Twitter reply saying, “I know he’s still young and people make mistakes, but I’m a little about racist jokes towards Asians “more okay” because we won’t see you about it.”

Hours after the clip went viral on Dec. 6, Watkins. Jr posted a video statement on Twitter responding to the criticism. He said he did not intend his comments to be offensive.

Speed ​​(@ishowspeedsui) December 6, 2022

“Hey guys, there’s a clip going around where people say I’m racist towards an Asian guy, and I just wanted to say a few things. I wasn’t racist towards him, I promise you. I got it. seen, I thought he was Japanese, so I said ‘konnichiwa’, I watch a lot of anime,” he said.

The YouTuber concluded his video by apologizing to those he offended: “If I offended an Asian person, trust me man, I’m not racist. I love Asian people; I love everybody, man over there.”

The apology video which has now been viewed 4.1 million times has been met with a mixed response. While some users expressed their support for the YouTuber, others said he failed to take proper responsibility for the comments.

“You were 100% racist towards him, making fun of his language and misrepresenting his ethnicity when he said he was Chinese,” one user wrote in response to the video.

“‘I’m not a racist,’ why is it so hard these days for people to just say, ‘It’s a shame you were hurt by what I said. I didn’t mean it like that, but if it offended you, “Sorry, I didn’t mean it that way.” “No liability whatsoever,” another user wrote.

Regarding the random sounds Watkins Jr. made after repeatedly repeating konnichiwa, the YouTuber said he simply repeated, “a nickname they call me in China.”

Watkins Jr. issued a public apology and received backlash for controversial online behavior in the past. In April, he said he was “completely wrong” for telling a player to “go do her husband’s dishes” while playing first-person shooter Valorant, bringing Internet users to accuse him of misogyny.

Last December, streaming platform Twitch permanently banned Watkins after he commented on wanting to have sex with a female player when he appeared on its live stream, Dexerto reported. The YouTuber shared a screenshot of Twitch noting that he was “limited indefinitely” for violating Twitch’s Terms of Service, but did not comment further.

The YouTuber is well known for streaming popular video games like Fortnite and NBA 2K. He has been dubbed as one of the fastest growing creators on the platform by various entertainment media. In July 2021, Dexerto reported that he was able to gain one million YouTube subscribers in less than a week after going viral on TikTok.

Watkins Jr. did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

For more stories like this, check out Insider’s digital literacy team coverage here.

[ad_2]