After a fan giveaway turned into a riot last Friday in New York, Twitch’s most popular streamer Kai Cenat finally broke his silence. In a brief 19-minute broadcast on Twitch, his first since being arrested at the disastrous giveaway, he stressed that he is “disappointed” with what had happened during the streaming meet-up.
Kai says the events were not acceptable, but have put into perspective for him just how much power and influence he has over his community.
“I am beyond disappointed with anyone who became destructive that day,” Kai said in his Twitch stream on Aug. 9. “That shit is not cool, I want people to know that.”
In Union Square, New York last Friday, Kai promised his fans a “huge giveaway” which saw thousands show up to get their chance at scoring a free PlayStation 5. Chaos soon broke out, resulting in the destruction of property.
One specific video showed a Kai Cenat fan jumping on the roof of a car before smashing the windscreen. The streamer did not address the footage directly but touched on it briefly in his livestream: “I don’t condone anything that went on that day. I’m seeing random videos of people getting sturdy on people’s cars and I’m asking myself, why? Why?”
“When we do things like this it not only needs to be safe, but it needs to be fun. We can’t just be running around destroying [things]. None of that is how I wanted any of this to go, I had straight good intentions and I didn’t think it was going to be what it was.”
As a result of the gathering, which required heavy police intervention, Kai was charged with two counts of inciting a riot and unlawful assembly. Kai says he will be streaming less in the near future and is due to appear in court on Aug. 16.