Johnny Somali

About

Johnny Somali is an American Kick streamer and YouTuber known for his travel streams and often combative interactions with the local citizens of each country he visits, garnering him a large amount of controversy over the years. During his time on the streaming platform, he has primarily traveled through Asian countries, most notably Japan and Thailand, which received some internet buzz in 2023 as multiple clips of the streamer harassing locals on public transportation went viral, resulting in him being punched and attacked.

Online History

Johnny Somali's online presence started on YouTube in 2011 when he created his YouTube^[1] channel JohnnySomali on April 17th, 2011. His latest video uploaded^[2] on the platform, however, was uploaded on December 13th, 2022, titled "Halloween 2022," which is a vlog compilation of his highlights from his Halloween in Scottsdale, Arizona. The video (shown below) garnered over 2,700 views and 23 likes in a year.

Somali focuses his online content on his travel experiences, mostly in Asian countries like Japan and Thailand. For example, his most viewed YouTube^[3] video was uploaded on January 30th, 2023, showing a nightclub In Bangkok (shown below), which amassed over 196,000 views and 971 likes in eight months.

It's unknown exactly when Johnny Somali joined Kick and began streaming on the platform, but reports date back to around May 2023, noting that he was banned from Twitch prior to the move.^[11] Despite self-identifying on his Kick profile as a "Former Child Soldier" and "Somali Pirate," many online dispute that he is Somali and claim that he is actually Ethiopian.^[12]

Controversies

Johnny Somali Harassing Japanese Local

On May 19th, 2023, Somali became a trending topic on social media after he livestreamed himself harassing people on a Japanese train and later being confronted by someone who was upset by his actions. The moment was widely shared on X^[4] in the following days, but the videos were subsequently taken down from the platform due to purported copyright issues.

On June 2nd, the streamer posted a video on his YouTube^[5] channel titled "Johnny Somali Pressed in Japan," showing the interaction with a local Japanese on a train which he said, “You know Hiroshima, Nagasaki? Why did you do Pearl Harbour? You know what we do to you. We destroy because you don’t know how to behave. We will do it again, you understand?" The video (shown below) amassed over 185,000 views and 454 likes in three months. On June 13th, YouTuber^[6] @EarlyGameEN posted a Shorts video compilation of moments in which Somali was attacked in Japan over his controversial statements (shown below, right), amassing more than 2 million views and 192,000 likes in three months.

The streamer got involved in another controversy on August 19th, 2023, after a video of him went viral on X in which he appears blowing smoke on the face of the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated in July 2022. X^[7] user @bakusai_com posted the livestream (shown below) criticizing Johnny's actions in the video, which amassed roughly 532,000 views and 132 likes in a week.

【悲報】迷惑系黒人YouTuber ジョニーソマリが、故安倍元首相の顔に煙を吹きかけてまたもや挑発

何度も挑発してくるが、これが炎上商法ってやつかな。#ジョニーソマリ #johnnysomalipic.twitter.com/KVJBAMP2tC https://t.co/7ZR3uRSOVI

— 爆サイ.com【公式】ツイッター (@bakusai_com) June 26, 2023

A few days later, on August 22nd, while livestreaming in the streets of Tokyo, Johnny was punched by a man as he was walking around the city (shown below). The video was shared on X^[8] by user @canceljohnnys, which garnered over 310,000 views and 1,700 likes in a day.

横断歩道で踊ってるといい感じの張り手をもらうジョニーソマリ
アニオタニキの逃げ足速すぎてワロタ🤣👍#johnnysomali #ジョニーソマリ #iceposeidon #アイスポセイドン pic.twitter.com/YvdLjaHgMj

— ジョニーリマソ醤 (@canceljohnnys) August 22, 2023

Following

By August 23rd, 2023, Johnny Somalihad had amassed roughly 11,000 followers on YouTube, 9,000 followers on Kick^[9] and 8,000 subscribers on TikTok.^[10]

Search Interest

External References