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Kai Cenat arrested after NYC giveaway turns to chaos

Thousands gathered in Union Square for Kai Cenat's giveaway event.

Donovan Erskine

August 4, 2023 3:25 PM

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Kai Cenat, a Twitch superstar who’s quite popular among Gen Z, held a giveaway today in New York City’s Union Square, where he invited fans to show up for a chance to receive a PS5s, $100 gift cards, and other free rewards. The planned giveaway quickly turned to chaos as mayhem broke out on the streets of NYC, with reports of fights and objects being thrown. It culminated in Cenat (and others) being taken into custody.

The giveaway was planned to start at 4 p.m. ET, which is roughly when local outlets began reporting the news that police were en route to Union Square to address an out of control crowd. NBC New York posted a video that shows people climbing fences and structures, throwing objects through the air, and being detained by police. Kai Cenat himself briefly broadcasted the event, which highlighted the chaos as even he struggled to get the crowd under control prior to ending the stream altogether. The event was also hosted by Fanum, another Twitch streamer and a close associate of Kai’s. Videos posted to social media show Cenat seemingly being taken into police custody.

Kai Cenat has risen to social media superstardom over the past couple of years, consistently pulling in upwards of 60,000 viewers on his livestreams. Earlier this year, Cenat broke Twitch’s all-time subscription record during a subathon. He’s collaborated with various celebrities and artists including 21 Savage and Ice Spice. He was born in New York.

New York police have encouraged civilians to avoid the area while they look to quell the chaos. Both Kai Cenat and Fanum have shared now-deleted updates to their social media accounts, including an Instagram story from Cenat (spotted by The Verge) that read “I love you guys to the fullest you guys are amazing, THE LOVE FROM HOME BASE IS REAL, Please be safe.” We’ll be sure to update this story as new information becomes available.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a young journalist from Maryland, who likes to game. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge Scream nerd and film fanatic that will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_