Streamer Sneako, whose real name is Nicolas Kenn De Balinthazy, was caught on livestream being punched and pepper-sprayed on a Manhattan street on Tuesday, April 14.
The incident, which happened live with thousands tuned in, quickly went viral and sparked a larger debate about the increasing safety concerns for live streamers.
What was in the viral video?
The recorded video showed Sneako walking down the street with his phone in his hand. The attacker, identified as an unknown man wearing a Dr. Pepper T-shirt, approached him and punched him in the face. He attacked then pulled him down to the sidewalk.
A report by the CBS News noted Sneako sustained injuries that were not severe and he told arriving NYPD officers that he was pepper-sprayed and assaulted. The investigation is ongoing with no suspect or person of interest identified.
Sneako claimed incident was pre-planned
Less than an hour after the attack, Sneako came back to his livestream and talk about the event. Responding about the attack in his stream, he mentioned about a broken tooth and reported that he had been pepper-sprayed and beaten.
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He said “I got hit, you can see it in the video. I got hit a few times, I get up and immediately [he] pulls out mase and runs away. This doesn’t make sense that it was a random person”
According to a report by Yahoo Entertainment, Sneako called the even “a premeditated assault”, saying, “Hundred percent, it does not make sense that it was some random person, he went over me, it was some cowardice.”
A few minutes later, he posted on X too, writing: ”I’m fine we got it handled. Going live again an hour later, with Professor Jiang X Dave Smith”.
Who is Sneako?
Sneako, a 27-year-old streamer, has gained popularity due to his right-wing views and provocative content based on the manosphere online spaces often linked to misogyny and toxic masculinity.
He has been banned on YouTube and Twitch before due to the violation of their codes of conduct. In spite of these bans, he still runs on the site Kick broadcasting and is an active social media user.