iShowSpeed Denies Racism Allegations During World Cup Stream

Controversial streamer iShowSpeed has landed himself in hot water yet again with his trademark unhinged behavior. This time, droves of internet users are saying Speed acted in an insensitive and arguably racist way toward a Chinese soccer fan wearing an Argentina jersey during a livestream.

In the now-viral video, he repeatedly shouted “Konnichiwa!” at the man while streaming, despite the man’s insistence that he was Chinese. Speed is currently streaming at the Qatar World Cup, and his content from there is widely watched on YouTube and other platforms.

OH MY FUCKING GOD pic.twitter.com/MMvgljyZfi

— гг ~ 𖤐 (@tize4PF) December 6, 2022

For context, "Konnichiwa" ( こんにちは ) is a Japanese word that means “hello,” and not a Chinese word. In the clip, iShowSpeed appeared incapable of understanding that a Chinese person might not wish to be known as Japanese, drawing the ire of many since it spread online.

Yesterday evening, iShowSpeed then put out a video denying the racism accusations, saying he said “konnichiwa” mostly because “I watch a lot of anime and that he has many Chinese friends.

He also shared that he is under a lot of pressure running around and producing content, and so sometimes isn’t as thoughtful as he should be. Speed then went on to gently mock the Arabic and Portuguese languages, saying that he did not mean it in a racist way. He apologized if “that came out that way.”

my response to racist accusations pic.twitter.com/cfH0P0Qtle

— Speed⭐️ (@ishowspeedsui) December 6, 2022

Some posters, however, did not accept Speed’s apology, saying it showed deep insensitivity.

Would he think it a joke if ppl made monkey sounds to him?

— POLLY🐎 (@POLWIN12) December 7, 2022

In the replies to Speed’s apology and in the replies to the original video, many photo posts were censored by Twitter because they might show sensitive content. It is a common practice of memers picking up on viral content to put nonsensical memes underneath a warning label. Some joked about the weird space of the replies and Speed’s community in general, which purportedly involves a lot of stans.

pic.twitter.com/j1tmIDwkuZ

— Muhammet Yilmaz (@YMyilmazmuhamet) December 6, 2022

Wanna cover Speed news but also don’t want death threats for the next 2 months 🫤

— Jake Lucky (@JakeSucky) December 6, 2022

Many expressed disbelief and surprise about Speed in general, who has gone viral in the past for stunts like allegedly prank-calling the police and setting off fireworks inside his bedroom.

I'll never forgive the internet for making IShowSpeed famous

— BH (@MCFC__BH) December 7, 2022

Meanwhile, iShowSpeed is seeing more and more success as a streamer, exceeding over 320,000 viewers in his last livestream of the World Cup and 14 million subscribers. His outlandish behavior appears to be helping him business-wise despite the several controversies following in his wake.

SPEED BROKE HIS ALL TIME RECORD! He peaked around 320k Views! 🐐🔥 pic.twitter.com/dn2Gpuzh1F

— Speedy Updates (@SpeedUpdates1) December 6, 2022