It was only a few months back that Ice Poseidon saw an ignominious end to his Asia tour in Thailand, barely getting out without being arrested after "giving lap dances to other guests in the lounge." Now, he is in the news for again getting in trouble with the law, this time in Australia, although it all seems to be working out for his channel's viewership.
The American is on a trip Down Under with his friends, and during a livestream on September 20, he had one of his most crooked ideas yet to entertain his viewers on Kick. He paid a fan and viewer picked from the street money to engage in explicit acts with an escort on stream. Although she was informed about cameras around the house, she wasn't aware of the entire episode being streamed live or that there were people in the other rooms, including Ice Poseidon.
As the duo was busy getting cozy, the woman got messages on her phone about being recorded live and understandably beat a hasty retreat upon realizing the same, despite attempts to stop her by the fan roped in to participate in this unfortunate incident. Soon after, Ice Poseidon and his friends, who were exiting the building they were staying at, were pulled up by police officers, who explained that "they were under arrest for sexual assault."
The video ended up becoming the fourth most popular and seventh most watched live broadcast on the influencer's Kick channel. Leading both metrics are streams from his time in Asia, specifically when he was in India trying to survive peak summer in New Delhi.
Interestingly, the stream from Bangkok, Thailand, where he and his friends were arrested, also made the top ten in his handle in terms of peak concurrent viewership after his move to the rising platform. Luckily, he was able to leave the East Asian nation after serving jail time and being charged with “distribution of obscene content.”
Getting back to his Australia troubles, it was soon apparent that viewers had gone a bit too far and ended up calling the police on the former Twitch star and his friends. Things were cleared up soon after and Ice Poseidon got back to streaming live from the next day.
However, he did face significant backlash from his colleagues over his repeated recent misdemeanors. The likes of JaredFPS, Victoria Ryann, TSM Dunc, and Jake Sucky were quick to go online and condemn the 28-year-old's actions, with many also demanding that Kick suspend him and bring more accountability from its streamers, especially those with chequered pasts like Ice Poseidon.
Speaking of Kick, the platform on Sunday released a statement where it addressed the issue in question and promised changes to its community guidelines and how they’re enforced. What also forced its hand was the increasing number of controversial content creators joining its banner and the kind of content they are allowed to put out, most of which was not allowed on sites like Twitch or YouTube.
Moreover, there was another incident that grabbed headlines simultaneously in the Far East, with the controversial Johnny Somali getting arrested in Japan for harassing locals and other streamers and breaking into a construction site. This came after he frequently upset citizens of the nation with his racist outbursts over months of his stay and was even attacked for his remarks.
Wasn't a "hidden camera" and I got swatted after not arrested. Buck adding to the Twitter cancelation nonsense!!! Figure your shit out twitter it's LEGAL content that even the police wrote off as LEGAL and safe. pic.twitter.com/vCc6MSyCay
— Ice_Poseidon (@REALIcePoseidon) September 24, 2023
Kick said in its statement:
“There’s incredible untapped potential in what live streaming has to offer. We’re firm believers that the greatest days of live streaming are yet to come. With that said, community & public safety cannot be compromised in the process of making ‘content’. We’re continuously learning where this balance sits and are making changes daily. We appreciate our community for the continuous feedback, both the good & the bad. We’ll keep you updated on upcoming changes to community guidelines and subsequent enforcement measures.”
While most of the community was not happy with this response, calling it hollow and accusing it of dodging the issues at hand, they were willing to see what changes would be made to ensure that its influencers stay in line when live. The ball is now in Kick's court, and it also remains to be seen what action it takes against the likes of Johnny Somali and Ice Poseidon for their recent transgressions.
