Popular YouTube streamer Darren “IShowSpeed”is making waves in China, currently on his inaugural country-wide tour. The reception from fans has been largely favorable, with many commending his authentic style. Nonetheless, the journey has not been without its share of controversies, highlighted by incidents involving inappropriate comments and gestures from certain fans. A notable moment unfolded during his live stream on March 31, 2025, from Chengdu, where a female fan’s comments crossed the line.
As IShowSpeed engaged with his audience about two hours and fifty minutes into the stream, a female fan approached him, but her remarks took a surprising and alarming direction. She stated:
“I am racist. I am a n****r killer, I’m so sorry about that. I love your girlfriend because your girlfriend is white people. I love her.”
A visibly taken aback Speed replied:
“What? Wait, I don’t think you understand what you are saying. Do you speak English? (She replied, ‘Yes, I am racist.’) What? What the f**k? Bro, hell no, what the f**k? What is she saying? What!”
Controversial Encounter: A Fan’s Cosplay from Blue Archive
Speed’s ongoing tour in China has been filled with memorable incidents, yet few have stirred as much debate as this encounter in Chengdu. Clips of this moment quickly gained traction on the r/LivestreamFail subreddit, sparking a flurry of reactions. Some viewers suggested that the fan may have been cosplaying as a character from the popular role-playing game, Blue Archive, who is depicted as having racist tendencies.
“Not that I’m defending this, but it’s supposed to be a meme among the Blue Archive community that the character she’s dressed as is a racist that likes saying the N word around the dark-skinned characters,”said u/Educational-Lake-199
While this context might explain her bizarre behavior to some extent, observers noted that it doesn’t excuse the use of such offensive language:
“Actually making sense of the insanity lol. Doesn’t make it OK in the slightest but at least there’s a reason. lm**o, woman just sounded insane,”stated u/Seven2Death
Recurring Instances of Racism During IShowSpeed’s Tour
The incident in Chengdu was not the first of its kind during IShowSpeed’s tour in China. His Beijing stream also featured a disturbing episode where a local used racial slurs while attempting to intrude on his live broadcast.
Another incident involved a female participant who disrupted the stream by playing “Sunshine, Rainbow, White Pony,”a 2018 song by Wowkie Zhang (大张伟). This particular track has stirred controversy as its chorus contains a phrase in Chinese that phonetically resembles the N-word.