One of the fixtures of the World Cup has been the uber-popular streamer Darren Watkins Jr., better known as IShowSpeed.
The social media creator known for his interactive livestreams has taken center stage at the tournament, documenting his experiences at matches and Fan Fests. He has more than 50 million followers each on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Clips from his streams constantly go viral on social media, including one of an older FIFA employee saying the code phrase to end his stream, him wearing split jerseys because the teams he repped kept losing, and begging Lamine Yamal to beat Lionel Messi because he is a Cristiano Ronaldo fan.
Watkins, 21, also has an official relationship with FIFA. Earlier this summer, he released a song for the World Cup that FIFA added as an official tournament song. He’s also set to perform at FIFA’s closing ceremony ahead of Sunday’s World Cup final between Spain and Argentina at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
The streams have also caught a darker side of this World Cup. Watkins, who is Black, has been subject to repeated racism and abuse from Argentine fans, repeatedly documenting Argentine fans making obscene and racists gestures and comments toward him on his livestreams
At the July 3 match between Argentina and Cape Verde in Miami, a woman wearing an Argentina jersey made disrespectful gestures toward Watkins and screamed at him for over 30 seconds, all of which was documented on his livestream. The woman clearly tells him “go home” and “fuck you.” Some outlets reported she also used the n-word and told Watkins to “go cry at the zoo.” FIFA said on July 7 that it was investigating an incident between a supporter and Watkins that happened at the match in Miami, and that it “strongly condemns racism, hate and discrimination in all forms.”
At Argentina’s July 7 match against Egypt in the Round of 16, several Argentina fans made insulting gestures toward Watkins. One fan pantomimed being a monkey and clearly used the Spanish anti-gay slur “puto.”
During Argentina’s semifinal match against England, when the South American side was down 1–0, Watkins was hit in the head by an aluminum cup. After Argentina equalized, fans threw beer and other items at Watkins, flipped him off, and made other obscene gestures toward him.
In each of these instances, Watkins did not lash out at any of the fans. During the incident with the woman, he asked her what she was saying in Spanish, then made a “blah-blah-blah” hand gesture at her. At the Egypt match, he remarked, “What’s wrong with that guy?” about the pantomiming Argentine. In the semifinal, he angrily yelled at the Argentine crowd to stop throwing things at him and encouraged his camera operator to film the fans.
Soccer leagues and tournaments around the world struggle with racism lofted at players or by players, and the 2026 World Cup has been no exception. A Mexican man was fired and issued an apology for pulling the corners of his eyes in a viral video from the opening South Korea match. Ivory Coast’s coach said a former German player was racist in calling his squad “a bit African football…a bit wild…not so conditioned by tactics.” Earlier this month, French star Kylian Mbappé fired back at a Paraguayan senator who called him a “colonised Cameroonian.”
A representative for Watkins did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
