IShowSpeed

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IShowSpeed
Speed in 2021
Personal information
Born
Darren Jason Watkins Jr.

(2005-01-21) January 21, 2005 (age 19)
Ohio, United States
Occupations
  • YouTuber
  • live streamer
  • internet personality
  • rapper
Signature
Websiteishowspeedstore.com
YouTube information
Also known asSpeed
Channel
Years active2016–present
Genres
Subscribers24.2 million[2]
Total views2.3 billion[2]
Associated acts
100,000 subscribers2021
1,000,000 subscribers2021
10,000,000 subscribers2022
Twitch information
Channel
Years active2018–2021
GenreGaming, Entertainment
Musical career
Genres
LabelsWarner
Last updated: April 24, 2024

Darren Jason Watkins Jr. (born January 21, 2005), known online as IShowSpeed (or simply Speed), is an American YouTuber and rapper. He is best known for his variety of livestreams, in which he primarily plays video games, including FIFA, Fortnite, and Roblox.

Watkins registered his channel "IShowSpeed" in 2017, primarily posting gaming content. From 2021 to 2022, he gained substantial popularity due in part to the circulation of eye-catching clips from his live streams on social media platforms. In 2022, he was named Breakout Streamer of the Year at the 12th Streamy Awards.[3][4]

Early life

Darren Jason Watkins Jr.[5] was born on January 21, 2005.[6][7]

He joined YouTube in 2016, uploading gameplay videos occasionally.[1] Around December 2017, Watkins began livestreaming and uploading videos of games such as NBA 2K and Fortnite, but only managed to average two viewers. Eventually, his subscriber count saw a rise in the span of a few months, reaching 100,000 subscribers in April 2021, 1 million in June 2021, 10 million in July 2022, and 20 million in August 2023.[6]

Influencer career

2019–2022: Beginnings, Talking Ben videos, and controversies

Watkins began streaming in 2019.[8] He became prominent in 2021 after his fanbase began posting clips on TikTok of his often-violent behavior during live streams towards games, players, and his camera, which gained popularity and became memes. His outbursts have resulted in bans from the streaming platform Twitch and the video game Valorant.[9] Kotaku described Watkins as "one of the biggest and fastest-rising streamers" on YouTube.[1] A game that has greatly contributed to his growth in popularity is Talking Ben. Watkins' videos on Talking Ben the Dog were credited for bringing the mobile app newfound popularity, with it becoming the best-selling game on the App Store over a decade after its initial release.[10]

In December 2021, Watkins took part in a Twitch "e-dating" livestream show hosted by Adin Ross. The exchange between Watkins and another participant, Ash Kash, escalated to what was widely interpreted as a rape threat. Watkins was the first contestant to be eliminated, and shortly after the game had ended, he quickly rejoined the Discord call and started sexually harassing Kash, slurring her repeatedly. Watkins was then kicked out of the call, with Ross apologizing to Kash for his behavior. Watkins was later banned from Twitch.[1][11] According to a Twitter post by him, Watkins was banned for "sexual coercion or intimidation."[12][13]

In April 2022, an old clip of Watkins playing Valorant on a live stream surfaced. In the clip, he tells a female player to, "Get off the fucking game and do your husband's dishes."[9] This resulted in one of the game's producers, Sara Dadafshar, permanently banning Watkins from Valorant and all other Riot Games titles.[14][15] YouTube global head of gaming creators, Lester Chen, replied to the clip, saying he was "on it."[1] Watkins soon apologized for his behavior, acknowledged that it was "wrong", and claimed that he was receiving racist comments from other players that day.[16]

In July 2022, Watkins set off a Pikachu firework inside his bedroom, almost burning it down.[17][18] In August 2022, he attempted to cheat in a "United States and Global Economics" course he was taking at the Ohio Digital Learning School by asking his viewers for the answers to his quiz. His viewers instead took the opportunity to prank him and purposely give him the wrong answers, resulting in him getting 0/10 on the test.[19]

2022–present: Shift to football-based content

In September 2022, Watkins played in the Sidemen Charity Football Match.[20] During the match, he became frustrated at English referee Mark Clattenburg for disallowing his goal to be offside. He proceeded to whip him with the shirt he removed while celebrating, which resulted in him receiving a yellow card. Later in the match, a pitch invader carrying a Messi jersey approached Watkins, which resulted in him tossing it onto the floor.[21] In November 2022, American rapper and singer Lil Nas X made his live streaming debut and appeared on Watkins' stream.[22]

In July 2022, Watkins received a community guidelines strike as well as a one-week ban on YouTube after livestreaming his character being fellated in a sexual Minecraft mod named "Jenny's Mod" to 96,000 of his viewers. Initially, he censored the screen as it was happening, but he kept changing the screen from censored to uncensored. Eventually, he left the screen uncensored, and his character was seen expressing sexual activity. Watkins later confirmed the strike and claimed that he wouldn't be returning to YouTube.[23][24]

In August 2022, he was swatted while livestreaming on YouTube. Officers handcuffed Watkins, and his cameraman was forced to end the stream.[25] Watkins claimed that he had been placed in jail and that Adin Ross had to bail him out, allowing him to return to streaming on August 11.[26]

In November 2022, Sky Sports announced that they would stop featuring him on their platform after the emergence of past misogynist and derogatory comments made by Watkins. The platform also removed all content featuring Watkins.[27][28] In December 2022, he won the Streamy Award in the "Breakout Streamer" category during the 12th Streamy Awards.[29] Throughout November and December 2022, he visited various football stadiums to try and watch Cristiano Ronaldo play live. He traveled to Old Trafford, Craven Cottage, and various other stadiums in Qatar, though Ronaldo was benched from the lineup during those games, up until Portugal's loss to Morocco.[30][31] In May 2023, Watkins announced he had signed an exclusive streaming deal with the video sharing platform Rumble, in collaboration with Kai Cenat.[32] In October 2023, Watkins met Daler Mehndi during his visit to India.[33]

In December 2022, during the Round of 16 match between Portugal and Switzerland, Watkins garnered controversy for his behavior toward a Chinese spectator of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which was interpreted by many as racist. During a live stream, he approached a man wearing an Argentina jersey to question him. Visibly confused, the man specified that he did not speak English, which prompted Watkins to start repeatedly hurling "Konnichiwa", a Japanese greeting, and start uttering sounds reminiscent of Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese. When a clip of the live stream started circulating online, he uploaded an apology video to his Twitter account.[34]

In February 2023, Watkins uploaded a short video on one of his secondary channels stating he was behind Thumb Media Affiliate and Cardigan, two copyright companies that had either been claiming ad revenue or striking videos from channels that had been using clips from his streams. Other content creators also discovered Adin Ross, one of his associates, was also behind the labels. Following this short, Watkins faced significant backlash from his community.[35][36]

On August 16, 2023, during a livestream, Watkins jumped up from his seat due to being jumpscared while playing Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach and accidentally flashed his penis to a live viewership of 25,000 people.[37] He subsequently ended the livestream out of embarrassment. Viewers uploaded the clip onto social media, and the term "IShowMeat", in reference to the slang word meat, meaning penis, began trending on Reddit and X (Twitter).[38] Due to the accidental nature of the incident, YouTube has since declined to strike his channel or ban him.[39]

Watkins appeared on Night 2 of WWE's WrestleMania XL on April 7, 2024. He was dressed as a bottle of Prime for the WWE United States Championship match between champion Logan Paul, Kevin Owens, and Randy Orton, where he was kicked by Orton and RKOed onto the commentators' table.[40]

Music career

In August 2021, Watkins released his first single, "Dooty Booty", on his YouTube channel. Following its upload, the song quickly became popular on YouTube and other social media sites, such as TikTok.[41] In November, Watkins released a single titled "Shake", which sampled both "Ready or Not" by Fugees as well as "Hit The Road Jack" by Ray Charles. The song's accompanying music video received over 160 million views on YouTube.[42][43]

In June 2022, he released a song called "Ronaldo (Sewey)", following his newfound admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo.[44][42] In November, he released a single titled "World Cup" under Warner Records in honor of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[45][46] On July 7, 2023, Watkins was a surprise guest at the 2023 Rolling Loud festival in Portugal and performed "Shake", "World Cup" and "Portuginies" with the support of American rapper Ski Mask the Slump God and producer DJ Scheme.[47]

In March 2024, Speed dropped four new songs for his new EP, Trip 2 Brazil.

Philanthropy

In February 2023, Watkins donated over $50,000 towards the victims of the Turkey–Syria earthquakes.[48]

In December 2023, Watkins fought KSI in a charity boxing sparring match after a year-long banter rivalry.[49] They raised over £50,000 for the Anthony Walker Foundation.[50]

Discography

EPs

  • Trip 2 Brazil (2024)

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
IRE
[51] 		NLD
Tip
[52] 		NZ
Hot
[53] 		SWE
Heat.
[54] 		UK
[55]
"Dooty Booty"[41] 2021 — — — — — Non-album singles
"Shake"[42] — — — — —
"God Is Good"[42] 2022 — — — — —
"Ronaldo (Sewey)"[44][42] — — — — —
"World Cup"[56][45] 37 1 29 6 52
"Dogs"
(with Kai Cenat)[57][58] 		2023 — — — — —
"Portuginies"[59] — — — — —
"Come My Way"[60] — — — — —
"Monkey"[61] 2024 — — — — —
"Amar de"
(with Kevin O Chris)[62] 		— — — —

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2024 The Sidemen Story Himself Documentary; Cameo [63]
List of music video appearances
Year Title Artist(s) Role Ref.
2022 "Let's Go" Tion Wayne feat. Aitch Himself [64]
"Don't Lie" A1 x J1 feat. Nemzzz [65]

Awards and nominations

Awards and nominations for IShowSpeed
Year Ceremony Category Result Ref.
2022 Streamy Awards Streamer of the Year Nominated [66]
Breakout Streamer Won
2023 Streamy Awards Streamer of the Year Nominated [67]
Variety Streamer Won

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Winslow, Jeremy (April 7, 2022). "YouTube Streamer With 6.9M Followers Banned After Valorant Tirade Clip Surfaces". Kotaku. G/O Media. Archived from the original on April 7, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "About IShowSpeed". YouTube.
  3. ^ Escandon, Rosa. "YouTube's Streamy Awards Announce 2022 Noms". Forbes. Archived from the original on March 7, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  4. ^ Truder, Morgan (December 5, 2022). "Kai Cenat and IShowSpeed Take Home Major Awards at Youtube Streamys". VideoGamer.com. Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  5. ^ Mathur, Moulik (October 18, 2023). "IShowSpeed India Trip: Here Is Everything From Meeting McStan, Daler Mehndi, Arguing With Messi Fans, Cricket, More". IGN India. Archived from the original on October 20, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Tsiaoussidis, Alex (August 2, 2022). "No slowing down: IShowSpeed is fastest growing streamer on YouTube right now". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on August 18, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  7. ^ "birthday boy🐶". Instagram. January 21, 2022. Archived from the original on January 23, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  8. ^ Bremer, Havar (October 3, 2022). "KSI om iShowSpeed: − Jeg floppet". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on November 19, 2022. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  9. ^ a b Harrison, Christian (April 7, 2022). "YouTuber IShowSpeed banned from VALORANT, all Riot games following viral sexist rant". Dot Esports. Gamurs. Archived from the original on April 9, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  10. ^ Johnson, Stephen (April 8, 2022). "The Out-of-Touch Adults' Guide to Kid Culture: What Is 'The Ick'?". Lifehacker. G/O Media. Archived from the original on January 18, 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
  11. ^ Alford, Aaron (December 13, 2021). "Adin Ross stream sparks outrage after IShowSpeed threatens to sexually assault guest". Inven Global. Archived from the original on January 25, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  12. ^ Alford, Aaron (December 14, 2021). "IShowSpeed banned after threatening sexual violence on Adin Ross stream". Inven Global. Archived from the original on March 11, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  13. ^ Press-Reynolds, Kieran (December 15, 2021). "Twitch reportedly bans streamer after he said an influencer couldn't 'stop' him from reproducing with her if they were the last people on Earth". Insider. Archived from the original on August 1, 2023. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
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  15. ^ Masters, Tim (April 7, 2022). "IShowSpeed banned from all Riot Games for sexist abuse". Inven Global. Archived from the original on October 5, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
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  19. ^ Fenley, Nick (August 30, 2022). "YouTuber Gets Trolled Into Scoring A Big Fat 0% On Quiz After Asking Livestream Chat For Answers". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on October 6, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
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  21. ^ Marsh, Dan (September 24, 2022). "Speed calls out Mark Clattenburg after whipping him with shirt in Sidemen charity match". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on September 24, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  22. ^ Tsiaoussidis, Alex (November 13, 2022). "Lil Nas X makes livestream debut on YouTube with iShowSpeed, and they made a song together". Dot Esports. Gamurs. Archived from the original on November 29, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  23. ^ Cheong, Charissa (July 25, 2022). "IShowSpeed sparks controversy over Minecraft video simulating sex act". Insider. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  24. ^ Polhamus, Blaine (July 22, 2022). "'I'm banned' IShowSpeed says goodbye after controversial YouTube stream". Dot Esports. Gamurs. Archived from the original on March 24, 2023. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  25. ^ Nathan, Grayson (August 15, 2022). "Streamers Keffals, Adin Ross and IShowSpeed all swatted in the same week". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 16, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  26. ^ Tsiaoussidis, Alex (August 12, 2022). "IShowSpeed claims police put him in jail after YouTube swatting and Adin Ross had to bail him out". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on October 7, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  27. ^ Humayun, Ali (November 14, 2022). "Sky Sports won't feature IShowSpeed on air again after misogynistic comments emerge". The Athletic. Archived from the original on January 4, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  28. ^ Wolens, Joshua (November 15, 2022). "Banned Valorant streamer yanked from football broadcasts after misogynistic video resurfaces". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on November 26, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  29. ^ Truder, Morgan (December 5, 2022). "Kai Cenat and IShowSpeed Take Home Major Awards at Youtube Streamys". VideoGamer.com. Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  30. ^ Hobkinson, Matthew (December 6, 2022). "'No way' - YouTuber IShowSpeed misses out again as Cristiano Ronaldo dropped for Portugal v Switzerland". Manchester Evening News. Archived from the original on February 10, 2023. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  31. ^ Bonn, Kyle (December 10, 2022). "Why Cristiano Ronaldo was benched for Portugal World Cup quarterfinal vs Morocco". www.sportingnews.com. Archived from the original on December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  32. ^ Rahman, Shaukmat (May 16, 2023). "Kai Cenat and IShowSpeed Announce Exclusive Livestream Show on Rumble". GameRant. Archived from the original on June 18, 2023. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
  33. ^ "Daler Mehndi and IShowSpeed dance to Tunak Tunak Tun. Watch". Hindustan Times. October 15, 2023. Archived from the original on October 20, 2023. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  34. ^ Tsiaoussidis, Alex (December 6, 2022). "IShowSpeed responds to racism allegations after star's World Cup fan video goes viral". Dot Esports. Gamurs. Archived from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  35. ^ Blisso (February 15, 2023). "IShowSpeed Reveals Himself as Copyright Claiming Villain Thumb Media and Cardigan". Bliss Index. Archived from the original on December 21, 2023. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  36. ^ Shrivastava, Aarnesh (May 2, 2023). "What is Thumb Media? Agency under fire as Adin Ross and IShowSpeed get accused of copyright striking YouTubers". www.sportskeeda.com. Archived from the original on November 27, 2023. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  37. ^ "YouTuber IShowSpeed receives flak for inappropriate gesture on live stream! Here's what happened". The Economic Times. August 17, 2023. ISSN 0013-0389. Archived from the original on August 25, 2023. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  38. ^ Pathak, Trisha. "American YouTuber IShowSpeed accidently flashes his privates on live stream". WION. Archived from the original on August 17, 2023. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  39. ^ "IShowSpeed won't be banned on YouTube after viral wardrobe malfunction". Dexerto. August 17, 2023. Archived from the original on October 30, 2023. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  40. ^ Crowley, Liam (April 7, 2024). "Logan Paul Defeats Randy Orton, Kevin Owens With Help From iShowSpeed at WWE WrestleMania 40". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on April 8, 2024. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  41. ^ a b Crates, Jake (August 26, 2021). "IShowSpeed – "Dooty Booty"". AllHipHop. Archived from the original on March 13, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  42. ^ a b c d e Cohen, Justin (September 27, 2022). "Is IShowSpeed The New King Of Content?". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on October 7, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  43. ^ IShowSpeed – Shake, archived from the original on May 28, 2023, retrieved March 24, 2023
  44. ^ a b "Ronaldo (SWEY) – Single by IShowSpeed". Apple Music. Archived from the original on November 26, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  45. ^ a b Bluetec, DJ (November 10, 2022). "Cincinnati's IShowSpeed gears up for "World Cup" with new anthem". HipHopCanada. Archived from the original on December 18, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  46. ^ "iShowSpeed - Allmusic". AllMusic. November 15, 2022. Archived from the original on November 15, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  47. ^ "IShowSpeed shocks crowd with performance at Rolling Loud". Dexerto. July 7, 2023. Archived from the original on July 15, 2023. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  48. ^ "Ishowspeed Big Donation to Turkey and Syria Earthquake Relief". Roonby. February 7, 2023. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  49. ^ Ellis, Jordan (December 6, 2023). "KSI makes IShowSpeed announcement that may impact Jake Paul's latest boxing fight". TalkSport. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  50. ^ @KSI (December 16, 2023). "Thank you to everyone who donated ❤️" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  51. ^ "Discography ishowspeed". irishcharts.com. Archived from the original on May 13, 2023. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  52. ^ "Dutch Single Tip 26/11/2022". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Archived from the original on January 4, 2015. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  53. ^ "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. November 14, 2022. Archived from the original on November 11, 2022. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  54. ^ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 46". Sverigetopplistan. Archived from the original on November 18, 2022. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  55. ^ "IShowSpeed | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  56. ^ "World Cup – Single by IShowSpeed". Apple Music. Archived from the original on November 26, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  57. ^ Dogs - Single by IShowSpeed & Kai Cenat, April 27, 2023, archived from the original on April 28, 2023, retrieved April 28, 2023
  58. ^ Bhattacharya, Richik "anarkiddie" (April 27, 2023). "Kai Cenat and IShowSpeed's new single Dogs has been released on YouTube with much fanfare". www.sportskeeda.com. Archived from the original on April 28, 2023. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  59. ^ IShowSpeed - Portuginies (Official Music Video) {Prod. Dj Scheme}, retrieved July 5, 2023
  60. ^ IShowSpeed - Come My Way 💔 Quero Você (Official Music), archived from the original on January 2, 2024, retrieved December 28, 2023
  61. ^ IShowSpeed - Monkey (Official Music Video), retrieved March 21, 2024
  62. ^ IShowSpeed x MC Kevin O Chris - Amar de (Official Music Video), retrieved March 22, 2024
  63. ^ Shah, Furvah. "Sidemen's Netflix documentary: Release date, trailer, cast and more". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  64. ^ Olaoya, Ezra (October 10, 2022). "Tion Wayne & Aitch Head To The Golf Course For "Let's Go" Visuals". Complex. Archived from the original on October 29, 2022. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  65. ^ "A1 x J1 - Don't Lie (Official Video) ft. Nemzzz". Retrieved March 17, 2024 – via YouTube.
  66. ^ "12th Annual Streamy Nominees". The Streamy Awards. December 5, 2022. Archived from the original on October 30, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  67. ^ "13th Annual Streamy Winners". The Streamy Awards. Archived from the original on September 1, 2023. Retrieved August 28, 2023.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=IShowSpeed&oldid=1220548239"