Yesterday (August 4), it was reported that Twitch streamer Kai Cenat was taken into police custody after a fan event took a turn for the worst. He had told followers he would be doing a "huge giveaway" in NYC, gifting fans PS5s and other gaming accessories. Massive crowd of people, estimated to be in the thousands, showed up for the giveaway. Things took a hard left, however, when the fans began fighting with each other, throwing things at police, climbing on vehicles, and more. The situation caused a major disturbance in the area, blocking off streets and creating traffic delays.
It was unclear at the time whether or not Cenat would be facing charges after being taken into custody. It was then revealed today during a press conference that the NYPD will be pressing charges against him. He'll be charged with at least two counts of inciting a riot and unlawful assembly, on top of "a few other charges."
Kai Cenat's Giveaway Gone Wrong
The incident has now sparked a bit of a debate on social media. Users are going back and forth as to whether or not Cenat deserves to be charged. Some feel as though the chaos could have been avoided with proper planning. Others think the streamer was only trying to give back through the giveaway. A couple of notable artists have weighed in as of late, NLE Choppa and Offset. Both rappers appear to be siding with Cenat, sharing their thoughts on social media.
Offset took to Twitter yesterday, writing, "How you lock Kai up for giving back to his fans.... New York be trippin!!!" NLE Choppa shared a similar sentiment in his comments on the matter. "Y’all don’t even charge the KKK When they do that negative sh*t but charge a successful black man for giving back. The system so designed for us to fail it don’t make sense !" he says. The artist later went on to write, "Ian saying what he did what’s done correctly of course it’s something he could’ve done better but his intentions were pure that’s all that matter, he wanted to help, give back, inspire, and most importantly spread love."