Ludwig Claims IShowSpeed Is Feeding "Toxic Fanbase"
Streamers such as Asmongold and Adin Ross defended IShowSpeed for his sexist outburst citing his young age. However, that doesn't seem enough for Ludwig.
11th Apr 2022 15:10
Images via YouTube | IShowSpeed | Mogul Mail
The internet is still reeling from the sexist outburst from YouTuber Darren "IShowSpeed" Watkins. Now, another star of the platform, Ludwig "Ludwig" Ahgren has shared his take on the drama.
19-year-old content creator IShowSpeed has enjoyed a meteoric rise over on YouTube, becoming one of the most recognisable streamers on the Google-owned platform. However, he has also landed himself in a heap of controversy on numerous occasions for his aggressive outbursts and offensive comments. The most recent of which was when he was banned from all Riot Games titles for a sexist rant towards his VALORANT teammates.
Although a wealth of people on social media condemned Speed for his comments, his fans quickly jumped to his defence. As numerous streamers have shared their opinion on the event, now Ludwig has revealed his view claiming that Speed is feeding "a toxic fanbase."
Ludwig Calls Out IShowSpeed's 'Racist, Homophobic, And Sexist Language'
With his main YouTube channel being where he posts the majority of his content, Ludwig uses his second account Mogul Mail to discuss and explore more serious topics. For example, he used this channel to call out Esports.gg for 'stealing his content' as well as dishing the dirt about his various YouTube DMCA-related bans. In his most recent upload 'This is the biggest YouTube live streamer in the world', Ludwig laid down the controversy surrounding IShowSpeed's ban from all Riot Games.
Speaking about how Speed has become so popular, Ludwig said: "He gets what the next generation want." Despite being only19-years-old, Ludwig admitted that Speed has found a "clear formula" normally comprising of him saying "anything to get a laugh." Not only that, but Speed has become synonymous with his dramatic and intense reactions, often as a response to racist comments from trolls in his chat.
Showing the clip of Speed raging at his female teammate, Ludwig criticised Speed for his use of "super racist, homophobic, and sexist language." However, he claimed that Speed's fans were as just to blame, given how a number of them target the YouTuber with racist language to "make him react wildly." As a result, "it has cultivated [...] a super toxic community."
IShowSpeed Earns 7 Million YouTube Subs Following Sexist Outburst
Despite IShowSpeed's comments being condemned online, the YouTuber went on to hit the 7 million sub mark on YouTube. According to Ludwig, the backlash actually did more to help Speed's popularity saying "he probably got more fans from [the clip] than lost. There's no cancelling happening here." Although Ludwig acknowledged that Speed's fans are inducing his outbursts through their comments, he claimed that Speed is ultimately to blame.
The Mogul Mail host stated: "I feel like Speed promotes that fanbase because he doesn't do anything to stop it [...] I think at the end of the day in his mind, the views are paramount rather than creating a better culture that's more fun to be a part of."
IShowSpeed issued an apology following on from his ban, citing that the clip was from "months ago" and he was only young when the event occurred. However, his comments only sparked further dispute on social media among viewers, some calling on his VALORANT teammates to also be banned for their racist comments towards him. With YouTube previously admitted that it was investigating the clip, it's still unclear whether he will go onto to be banned from the platform as he already has been with Twitch.
About The Author
Emma Hill
Emma Hill is a former Junior Journalist at GGRecon.
