Kai Cenat, the popular streamer whose giveaway in New York City devolved into a chaotic situation last Friday, took to Twitch Wednesday to discuss the situation for the first time.
In a livestream titled “First Stream After New York,” Cenat first acknowledged the bigger-than-usual audience on his stream, noting “the media and the boomers” who were watching.
“I’m still taking this whole thing in right now… This is fucking insane,” Cenat said. “Being from New York… it has been my dream to wanna give back to the community who made me who I am.”
He continued, “But after Friday, bro, I’ve come to realize the amount of not only power and influence that I have on people. I am beyond, bro, disappointed at anybody who became destructive that day. That shit is not cool. None of that is cool, bro. I’m beyond disappointed in the things that went on on Friday, and I want people to know that. None of that was my intentions, bro. Not only that, I don’t condone any of things that went on, none of that is cool.”
On August 4, Cenat and fellow streamer Fanum announced a giveaway of PlayStation 5s to attendees who showed up at Union Square Park, an unsanctioned mass gathering in a highly trafficked area that would normally require permits and police preparedness. The crowd ultimately grew unruly as thousands of people swarmed the area, resulting in what Cenat’s content house called “the outbreak of disorderly conduct that affected innocent people and businesses.”
“When we do things like this, it not only needs to be safe, it needs to be fun… We can’t just running around and destroying this and destroying that. And I want people to understand, ya feel me, I’ve been seeing a lot of things with the news and the media… none of that is how I wanted this to go, bro. I had straight good intentions and I didn’t think it was gonna be what it was,” Cenat said Wednesday in retrospect.
“Next time you want to do anything like this, you got to hit up the right people, make the right calls, and do it the correct way, because on a whole we all got to do better. I can’t stress this enough, it was not my intention, I don’t condone any of the things that went on that Friday in a destructive manner.”
Following the chaos, Cenat was taken into custody and charged with two counts of inciting a riot as well as potentially unlawful assembly; he was released the following morning. He added Wednesday, “For me streaming, I’m gonna have chill for a little bit due to the fact that I got court dates I gotta appear to, my first date, August 16, I got things I actually have to handle, I have charges and all that.”
Cenat wrapped up his video by admonishing those who caused “destruction” — reports from the scene stated that some young people broke into a construction site, hurled paint cans and fireworks, and injured each other and police officers — and apologized for what occurred.
“Those who did the things that they did and messed up a lot of stuff, they need counseling,” Cenat said. “Bro, it was never my intention for things to happen as they happened.”
