Heads are rolling in the influencer scene right now, in the USA as well as in Germany: But hardly anyone expected that the big YouTuber Charles White would be affected. After a controversial debate, the man from Florida is withdrawing from the internet for the time being. The 29-year-old has 15.7 million subscribers on YouTube and is usually the one who makes moral judgments about others.
Who is Charles White?
Twitch streamers like Trymacs earn a lot of money with “reaction streams” – Charles White took this to the extreme in some places, but broke it:
From pizza delivery man to one of Germany’s biggest Twitch streamers – Trymacs’ life and career in 2 minutes
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This is the announcement: As has now become known indirectly, a podcast in which Charles White participates has announced (via dexerto) that
Misunderstanding in transgender debate triggers shitstorm
Why is he leaving now? The situation is complicated. Charles White had a discussion with the influencer Sneako, with whom he had previously clashed. The discussion was about whether minor transgender people should be allowed to undergo gender transition while still minors or whether this should remain prohibited.
Charles White’s position was actually that if children and parents agree, children can begin hormone therapy, but the actual surgery should not be performed until the person is of legal age.
But there was a misunderstanding, he says, and that’s why it seemed as if he believed that the operation could also be performed on minors.
How did the misunderstanding come about? Sneako used the crude phrase “they cut off his tail.”
Charles White says that he understood this as an exaggerated formulation for the entire process of gender transition. However, Sneako and the general public specifically meant the operation when they said “they cut off his dick”:
I assumed Sneako was exaggerating when he talked about a nine-year-old having his tail cut off, because I didn’t think anyone thought that was how transition worked.
I thought he was talking about the general point of a child’s transition, which is a years-long process, and you can’t get that damn surgery until you’re 18. I didn’t think that was a literal statement he was making.
In any case, the reaction to this debate was so negative that Charles White has now apparently decided to withdraw from the Internet for the time being.
However, a clear announcement from him personally is still missing.
The dark side of power pounces on the topic
How did the discussion become so negative? While Charles White is still considered a moderate voice when it comes to denouncing influencers for misconduct, there are others in the US scene who take a more extreme approach than he does.
The most controversial of these opinion bloggers is probably Keemstar with his “DramaAlert”. The topic was a godsend for the 42-year-old, and his tweet about Charles White’s statements reached 23 million views.
How is this commented on? Charles White’s withdrawal is commented on mockingly; the fact that someone who sits on a “morally high horse” stumbles himself, and that of all people against a guy like Sneako, is seen as ironic.
One comment says that YouTube’s “Golden Boy” would run away at the slightest opposition. Others, however, see the decision as correct and understandable in view of the emotional reactions on the Internet.
In November 2023, the roles were distributed quite differently. Charles White was on top when he spoke about the “cookie affair” of the otherwise impeccable influencer Pokimane and ruled: Twitch’s highest moral authority condemns Pokimane’s behavior in the cookie affair