American content creator iShowSpeed received the warmest welcome from his fans as he made a brief visit to The Philippines as part of his Southeast Asia tour.
Arriving in Manila fresh off a successful stop in Thailand, where his streams gathered over 11 million views, iShowSpeed expected to connect with his Filipino fanbase and experience the hospitality for which the country is known for.
Wearing a basketball jersey with “Pilipinas” and the Philippine flag, he explored various spots in Metro Manila where he was mobbed by eager fans, gaining over 100,000 subscribers in just three hours.
The first major stop occurred in a Chowking branch in Manila, followed by an incident at a luxury car dealership in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) that led to an overwhelming situation for the streamer.
Crowds swarmed iShowSpeed at the dealership, forcing him to cut his plans short out of concern for his safety.
“I can’t even walk, bro. I can’t do sh*t. Ya’ll passed the limit,” he said while stuck inside the dealership, clearly frustrated by the intensity of the crowd.
Despite the chaos, iShowSpeed still took time to take photos with fans who had gathered around him and signed autographs for those who managed to get close.
Unfortunately, the warm reception the YouTuber received was also marred by a few negative experiences.
iShowSpeed encountered disrespectful behavior from some onlookers, including being called a racial slur and being tricked into saying a vulgar word to a local, which left many fans disheartened.
This prompted others online to express their disappointment, with some calling out the behavior of certain individuals while other Filipinos expressed shame over the incident.
Basketball player Bobby Ray Parks Jr. aired his dismay on Instagram after sharing a clip from iShowSpeed’s livestream where a netizen used the “N-word” toward the internet personality.
Parks called out fellow Filipinos who used the racial slur, saying, “That is just so ignorant, disrespectful, and downright embarrassing. Do better!”
He further emphasized the power of words, adding, “Words could speak life and words could speak death. #StopRACISM.”
Still, the stream wasn’t without its lighter moments as he made viral moments and meaningful connections during his visit.
iShowSpeed engaged with locals with one interaction involving him playing a one-on-one basketball game with a Filipino kid at a barangay-covered court.
At one point, iShowSpeed ate a siopao and asked what it was. While some told him it was filled with pork, others jokingly said, “meow! meow!” implying it contained cat meat.
Confused, he asked what “meow! meow!” meant and, upon learning it referred to a cat, he spit out the food. He was then told it was just a joke.
During his tour, the mega streamer also bought snacks from a sari-sari store and rode a motorcycle.
iShowSpeed, whose real name is Darren Jason Watkins Jr., currently has over 29 million subscribers, 24 million Instagram followers, and 29 million followers on TikTok after shifting from Twitch to YouTube.
