American influencer IShowSpeed. [YouTube capture]
American influencer IShowSpeed. [YouTube capture]

A prominent American influencer with nearly 100 million followers became the latest victim of racism at the 2026 North America World Cup.

FIFA said it became aware of a racist incident during the round-of-32 match between Argentina and Cape Verde at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Friday and immediately launched an investigation.

The victim was American influencer IShowSpeed, whose real name is Darren Jason Watkins Jr., 21. He is a globally recognized content creator with 57 million YouTube subscribers and 53 million TikTok followers, and has been livestreaming from stadiums throughout the tournament.

His broadcasts have drawn wide attention — FIFA President Gianni Infantino and football star Zlatan Ibrahimovic both appeared on his live streams during the tournament.

Video published on IShowSpeed's YouTube channel showed him, wearing a Cape Verde jersey, in a heated argument with a group of Argentina supporters in the stands.

Some Argentina fans directed obscene gestures at IShowSpeed and jeered him with chants of "go home." One fan was alleged to have made monkey gestures at him, and allegations emerged that racial slurs targeting Black people were also used.

FIFA said in a statement that "the FIFA World Cup is a festival of unity, diversity and respect," adding that "any behavior that undermines these values, which bring together people, cultures and communities from around the world, cannot be tolerated inside stadiums."

A Mexican man makes a slant-eye gesture toward a Korean YouTuber during the group stage match between South Korea and the Czech Republic on June 12. [Inonyyang YouTube capture]
A Mexican man makes a slant-eye gesture toward a Korean YouTuber during the group stage match between South Korea and the Czech Republic on June 12. [Inonyyang YouTube capture]

Racist incidents have been unusually frequent throughout this year's tournament.

Earlier, Korean influencer Inonyyang — whose real name is Yoon Su-jin — was subjected to a slant-eye gesture by a Mexican man seated behind her during the South Korea-Czech Republic group stage match on June 12. The man was identified as the president of the Civil, Topographic, Geometric and Engineering Association of Jalisco (CITGEJ) in Mexico, and ultimately posted a video apology on social media and resigned from his position.

French football star Kylian Mbappé was also recently targeted with racist attacks by a Paraguayan politician.

Celeste Amarilla, a senator from Paraguay's Authentic Radical Liberal Party, posted remarks on X, formerly Twitter, denigrating Mbappé's background and education after her country's defeat to France, drawing widespread condemnation. Mbappé fired back at the lawmaker, calling her "vile and unworthy of her position."

The French Football Federation also condemned the remarks as "disgusting and utterly unacceptable" and said it would pursue criminal charges.


betterj@heraldcorp.com