About

IShowSpeed's "EARLY STREAM!" also known as the IShowSpeed Trying Not To Laugh Stream or the My Mom is Kinda Homeless Stream, refers to a YouTube livestream hosted by streamer IShowSpeed, also known as Speed, on December 29th, 2021, titled, "EARLY STREAM!" The stream was called iconic and influential by many internet users on Twitter / X in the following years because it was the source of many IShowSpeed reaction images, GIFs, videos, clips and memes, most notably including the IShowSpeed Trying Not to Laugh clip, which includes the quote, "Please, Speed, I Need This… My Mom is Kinda Homeless." Speed notably played Fortnite and Five Nights at Freddy's in the stream and was seen wearing an Adidas hoodie sweatshirt and a black balaclava, also known as a shiesty or ski mask.

A slew of new GIFs from the "EARLY STREAM!" livestream were shared on X in October 2025, leading to a series of engagement bait posts that called out and highlighted the fact that there was a new GIF from it, thus making it more iconic. The attention led to IShowSpeed's "EARLY STREAM!" being added to the IMDb database, which caused viral reactions and posts.

In late October 2025, IShowSpeed recreated the My Mom is Kinda Homeless clip in a "reunion" stream with the two guys in the original clip. The kid who said, "My mom is kinda homeless," was revealed to be named Acey, and he and his mom confirmed that she was kind of homeless at the time. The other kid was revealed to be named Pew.

Origin

On December 29th, 2021, streamer IShowSpeed went live on YouTube^[1] for roughly four and a half hours. He played Fortnite and Five Nights at Freddy's and was seen wearing an Adidas sweatshirt and a black shiesty. The stream was titled, "EARLY STREAM!" and it received over 4.5 million views in four years.

The stream was the source of the IShowSpeed Smiling Trying Not To Laugh meme, which used a clip from the stream's 2:08:05 timestamp.

Speed is seen playing Fortnite in the clip with a kid on the voice call begging him to let him win the match. The kid says, "Speed, I really need this. My mom is kinda homeless. I live with my dad. I want to help her out." Speed is seen pursing his lips and seemingly trying to suppress a laugh.

Another player is then heard calling out Speed, saying, "Speed, I'm watching the stream, why you trying not to laugh, bruh. That's disrespectful as shit, bruh." As he's saying this, Speed's expression changes to a serene smile with his eyes closed.

The first-known use of the clip as a piece of reaction media was in a tweet shared by X^[2] user @VenomDbd on October 24th, 2023, who captioned it, "Peter when he saw the 'Miles Morales Original' Suit," referring to Miles Morales, the Spider-Man character. Over two years, the post received over 21,000 likes.

Peter when he saw the “Miles Morales Original” Suit pic.twitter.com/0Xeg4AnXHH

— Venom By Daylight🇵🇸 (@VenomDbd) October 24, 2023

Spread

The clip spread as a reaction GIF in the following years, and in 2025, new clips from the stream became reaction images and memes online.

For instance, on August 8th, 2025, X^[3] user @MagicalXavi used a different clip of Speed from the "EARLY STREAM!" livestream, in which he's listening to a guy say, "I'm not even pissed." Speed is seen nodding and putting his hand out as a gesture of agreement.

@MagicalXavi captioned the video, "Paid 60m for a dude who has 'fatigue' even when he is not playing," referring to a football contract for Spanish soccer player Dani Olmo. Over two months, the tweet received over 5,800 likes.

paid 60m for a dude who has "fatigue" even when he is not playing https://t.co/F74WwkgIsj pic.twitter.com/yzVhtsNrM4

— 🕊️ (@MagicalXavi) August 8, 2025

On September 30th, X^[4] user @troyismid quote-tweeted a post that used the abovementioned reaction, writing, "There's a new clip from this stream every week, genuinely a top 10 most influential stream ever." Over nine days, the post received roughly 54,000 likes.

On October 1st, 2025, GIPHY^[5] user @ykmikaelly shared a GIF using a different clip from the "EARLY STREAM!" livestream, showing Speed clutching his head and tightening his face, giving a frustrated expression. Over eight days, the GIPHY post gained over 1.6 million views.

On October 2nd, X^[6] user @mosthiphop used the GIF in a tweet that joked about Taylor Swift's newly released album The Life of a Showgirl, reading, "They're saying Taylor Swift's album leaked & she's on it dissing Charli XCX." The tweet gained over 6,100 likes in a week.

Later on that same day, X^[7] user @SonOfYeezuss quote-tweeted the aforementioned post, writing, "Bro EVERY week there’s a new GIF from that fuckass stream 😭😭," gaining over 176,000 likes in a week.

GIFs from the stream continued to appear on X in the following weeks, which were often quote-tweeted by others, roughly following the same format as the abovementioned post.

For instance, on October 15th, 2025, X^[8] user @Wafffeling quote-tweeted a post using one of the GIFs, in which Speed bulges his eyes and looks stressed, captioning it, "It’s crazy how I keep seeing new clips- mmph~ no… we can't- we're both girls- mmph!" Over one week, the post received roughly 20,000 likes.

On October 18th, TikToker ^[9] @johnwrinkleswalls shared a powerscaling edit that compared the stats of "EARLY STREAM!" and the Breaking Bad episode "Ozymandias."^[10] Over four days, the video received roughly 18,800 likes.

IShowSpeed's "EARLY STREAM!" Added To IMDb

On October 21st, 2025, X^[11] user @SpeedUpdates1 shared a screenshot of a newly added IMDb^[12] page for IShowSpeed's "EARLY STREAM!" livestream, captioning it, "IShowSpeed becomes the first streamer to get a stream put on IMDb debuting with perfect 10/10 score 💀." The post received roughly 102,000 likes in a day.

Several X^[13][14] accounts, like @Dexerto and @FearedBuck, echoed the news in viral tweets.

Several reactions to the IMDb addition surfaced on X, like one quote-tweet shared by X^[15] user @vvsrak on October 21st, who joked about not wanting to hear Kai Cenat's name ever again in an IShowSpeed debate, gaining over 18,000 likes in a day.

Reunion Stream

On October 26th, 2025, IShowSpeed held a reunion stream on YouTube^[8] with the two guys from the original My Mom is Kinda Homeless clip, receiving over 5.6 million views in three days.

At the stream's 18:12 time stamp,^[16] Speed invited Acey onto the stream, who was the kid who said, "My mom is kinda homeless," in the original video. Acey said that he was 12 years old in the original. Later, Speed talked to Acey's mom, who confirmed that she was kind of homeless back in December 2021.^[19]

At the 19:03 time stamp,^[17] Speed invited Pew onto the stream, who was the other kid who said, "Why are you trying not to laugh, bruh?" in the original clip. Notably, when Pew was added to a video call with Speed later in the stream, he put a fake gun in his mouth.^[18]

On October 26th, X^[9] user @FearedBuck shared a clip from the stream, showing Speed recreating the My Mom is Kinda Homeless clip live with the two guys, gaining over 55,000 likes in three days.

IShowSpeed just recreated the “My Mom Is Kinda Homeless” meme with the same kids from last time with their face cams on 😭
pic.twitter.com/oFYIR5bcaI

— FearBuck (@FearedBuck) October 26, 2025

On that same day, X^[10] user @scubaryan_ shared a side-by-side comparison between the original clip and the recreation, gaining over 16,000 likes in three days.

IShowSpeed trying not to laugh clip in 2021 vs 2025 😭
pic.twitter.com/3d80ABJf7X

— ryan 🤿 (@scubaryan_) October 26, 2025

Various Examples

Templates / GIFs

Search Interest

External References