What is IShowSpeed's Net Worth?
IShowSpeed is the online alias of Darren Watkins Jr., a YouTuber, live streamer, and rapper who has a net worth of $10 million. IShowSpeed is known for his live streams of such video games as "Roblox," "Fortnite," and "FIFA," and for his collaborations with such fellow streamers as Adin Ross, Kai Cenat, and the Sidemen. Due to his frequently crude and misogynistic behavior on his streams, he has been at the center of multiple controversies.
Early Life
Darren Watkins Jr. was born on January 21, 2005 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Live Streaming
After having joined YouTube in 2016, Watkins began live streaming on Twitch under the alias IShowSpeed in 2017. Playing the video games "NBA 2K" and "Fortnite," he initially drew only a handful of viewers. However, his popularity steadily grew, and by the spring of 2021 he had reached 100,000 subscribers. Watkins soon went viral due to his frequently violent behavior on his streams, including his derogatory remarks toward other players and the games themselves. Although this resulted in numerous bans from Twitch, the exposure gained Watkins an even larger following, increasing his total number of subscribers to around 10 million by the summer of 2022. He also gained attention for playing the mobile app "Talking Ben the Dog," which he helped make a best-selling game in the App Store. In late 2022, Watkins won the Streamy Award for Breakout Streamer.
Controversies
Watkins has generated numerous controversies for his crude and reckless behavior and frequent derogatory, misogynistic remarks. In late 2021, he was accused of sexually harassing Ash Kash on an e-dating livestream Twitch show, resulting in a ban from the platform. The following year, Watkins was banned from the game "Valorant" after a clip surfaced of him yelling sexist comments at a female player. He also made national headlines when he was swatted and handcuffed while live streaming on YouTube, and was allegedly placed in jail. Not long after that incident, Watkins became violent during a charity football match in which he whipped referee Mark Clattenburg with his shirt.
In late 2022, it was announced that Sky Sports would end its relationship with Watkins due to the emergence of misogynistic comments he had previously made. He also drew ire for hawking an apparent cryptocurrency scam on a promotional stream. Watkins drew further criticism when he appeared at the 2022 FIFA World Cup and acted in a racist manner toward a Chinese spectator.
(Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
Music Career
As a rapper, Watkins released his first single, "Dooty Booty," on his YouTube channel in the summer of 2021. The song soon became popular on other social media platforms, notably TikTok. A few months later, Watkins released the single "Shake," which had an accompanying music video that amassed more than 160 million views on YouTube. In 2022, he released the singles "God is Good," "Ronaldo (Sewey)," and "World Cup," the lattermost of which went viral. Watkins later collaborated with fellow live streamer Kai Cenat on the 2023 single "Dogs."
Personal Life
In 2021, Watkins began dating Ermony Renee, whom he introduced to his audience on his live stream. Like him, she is a native of Cincinnati, Ohio.
