A YouTuber with 10 million subscribers is embroiled in controversy after footage of him simulating a

• YouTuber IShowSpeed has faced some backlash after a clip of him simulating a sex act went viral.
• The gamer has 10 million subscribers and has been banned from gaming platform Twitch. 
• YouTube has temporarily suspended posting on his channel for violating its terms.

A controversial gamer known as IShowSpeed has been suspended from uploading to his main YouTube channel for seven days after footage showing his Minecraft avatar receiving oral sex went viral.

The YouTuber, whose real name is Darren Watkins Jr., has been dubbed one of the fastest-growing creators on the platform by various entertainment outlets. In recent days, various clips have been uploaded on social media that appear to show footage from a livestream in which Watkins played an explicit "adult mod" of the videogame Minecraft.

In some of the clips, the YouTuber's Minecraft avatar can be seen standing in front of a female avatar in the game, next to three buttons that said, "blowjob," "sex," and "strip." The YouTuber could be seen clicking the "blowjob" button and saying, "I don't want to show this to young children, so I'm about to hide my screen." (Several gaming outlets have reported that while there is a general perception that most Minecraft players are children, the game has a large adult fanbase.) 

A photo of Watkins then appeared to obscure the screen, which showed only some clips from the game. In one, the female character crouched near his avatar. Watkins then started panting, screaming, and barking, and a short clip appearing to show his avatar receiving oral sex could be seen.

YouTube confirmed to Insider that the clip had been deleted and the channel had been temporarily suspended for violating its nudity and sexual content policies, and would be restored after seven days.

While some users have been critical of Watkins' Minecraft stream, other users came to the YouTuber's defense, saying that it's not uncommon for streamers to show sexual content, particularly when playing games like "Grand Theft Auto," which has been given a "mature" rating by the Entertaining Software Rating Board.

Many fans are using the hashtag #FreeSpeed to protest his apparent suspension.

Watkins' social media posts about the channel's suspension largely focus on how it would impact his subscriber numbers. On July 22, at the time of the suspension, the YouTuber posted a short video on a secondary YouTube account lamenting that he had hit 9.9 million subscribers.

"I'm going off YouTube y'all, so peace off y'all I love y'all boys, man. I'm really sad we couldn't hit 10 milly together," he said.  

According to analytics tracker Social Blade, the YouTuber hit 10 million subscribers that same day,

Watkins is well known on YouTube for streaming popular video games like "Fortnite" and "NBA 2K." In July 2021, Dexerto reported that he gained a million YouTube subscribers in under a week after going viral on TikTok. 

Last December, streaming platform Twitch permanently banned Watkins after he commented on wanting to have sex with a female gamer when he appeared on her livestream, Dexerto reported. The YouTuber shared a screenshot from Twitch noting that he was "indefinitely restricted" for violating its terms of service but didn't comment further. 

Watkins Jr. did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider's Digital Culture team here.

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