Kai Cenat Makes Debut on Twitch Following Union Square Controversy

On Wednesday night, streamer Kai Cenat went live on Twitch for the first time since his chaotic Union Square giveaway event in New York City on Friday. Thousands of people descended on Union Square after Cenat and another streamer promised to give away prizes like PS5s and gift cards, and Cenat has been charged with at least two counts of inciting a riot and unlawful assembly for the gathering.

“After Friday, I’ve come to realize the amount of not only power but influence that I have on people,” says Cenat. “And I’m saying that to say this: I am beyond disappointed in anybody who became destructive that day. That shit is not cool.” (You can watch a shortened replay of his stream on YouTube.)

Cenat added that “none of that was my intention. I had good intentions for this whole thing, and none of that was my intention. I don’t condone any of the things that went on that day,” referencing videos of people doing things like jumping on cars. “None of that is cool.” If he does a giveaway or event like Friday’s in the future, he says he’ll talk to “the right people” and “do it the correct way” — and he says, “As a whole, we all have to do better.”

Cenat says that, in the near term, he is going to “chill” on streaming because of upcoming court dates (he says the first is happening on August 16th). The break won’t be long, he promised.

Cenat has nearly 80,000 Twitch subscribers, according to TwitchTracker, making him Twitch’s second-most-subscribed streamer, according to TwitchTracker. He also has millions of followers across many other social media platforms.

His Union Square gathering isn’t the first time an influencer meetup has been called off due to sudden volume — Logan Paul and KSI had to cancel an in-person launch for their sports recovery drink because of a huge crowd, for example. And in 2018, VidCon started to discourage unofficial fan meetups because they could become dangerous.