Twitch streamer Kai Cenat wanted to give his fans prizes like a PlayStation 5 or a gaming PC at a meeting, but the situation spiraled out of control and ended with arrests and injuries.
What was that situation? On Friday, August 4, 2023, Twitch streamer Kai Cenat and YouTuber Fanum hosted a fan meetup in Union Square Park in New York City. There they wanted to raffle PS5 consoles, gaming PCs and gaming accessories among their viewers.
Thousands of people followed the call of the twitch streamer. The situation escalated shortly after the 21-year-old arrived.
Kai Cenat replaced Félix “xQc” Lengyel at the helm of Twitch.
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Injured and arrested at fan meetings
How did the situation get out of hand? Hours before the sweepstakes was due to begin, fans gathered at Union Square Park.
Kai Cenat, who was streaming in the car on the way to the event, mentioned the crowd and the police presence. However, as he exited the vehicle surrounded by bodyguards, he was quickly overwhelmed by the crowd. The stream ends shortly after the camera is apparently dropped.
Video recordings show the chaotic scenes: people flock to the surrounding streets, climb onto vehicles. Kai Cenat himself can be seen carrying a child out of the crowd and helping a fan with breathing problems (via Dexerto).
How did the event go? Live helicopter footage from the scene shows police officers arresting people and loading them onto a bus. There were reports of between 60 and 65 arrests, including 30 minors.
“Many young people were injured,” said Jeffrey Madden of the New York City Police Department at a press conference the same day. He tells of people who came out of the crowd bleeding and suffered panic attacks. In addition, several people are said to have been injured by fireworks and broken bones. Several officers were also injured (via Polygon).
Fanum apparently left the scene in a black SUV, to which several fans held on. Footage from American news broadcaster CBS shows at least one person falling from a moving car.
Kai Cenat himself was apparently carried out of the crowd by his bodyguards and then taken away by the police for questioning. He is said to have had no permission for the event. The NYPD said the Twitch streamer was charged with incitement to riot, unlawful assembly and “some other counts.”
By 5:30 p.m. local time, the park is said to have been largely cleared.
With great influence comes great responsibility
AMP, the organization to which both Kai Cenat and Fanum belong, released a statement about the incident on Instagram. The event was intended as a “positive experience” to thank the fans for their support. Apparently, the popularity of the content creators and the magnitude of the event had been underestimated:
We’ve hosted fan meetups and video shoots in the past, but we’ve never seen anything like yesterday. We recognize that our audience and influence is growing, and with that comes greater responsibility.
via Dexerto
There is no official statement from Kai Cenat. A post announcing the competition has now been deleted, and the VoD of the event is no longer available.
Kai Cenat only started streaming in February 2021 and by 2022 had become one of the biggest creators on the platform. In February this year he broke two records with a marathon stream and even caught the attention of rapper Drake:
21-year-old breaks 2 records on Twitch – Drake demands: “Give him $50 million”