Twitch Streamer Kai Cenat took to the streets of NYC, hoping to put on a huge giveaway ... but it resulted in all-out pandemonium, and him getting hauled off by cops.
It all went down at Union Square Park on Friday, where Kai and fellow streamer Fanum said they were giving away things like PS5 consoles and gift cards. The whole thing was set to start at 4 PM, but the mayhem broke out around 3:30.
The NYPD said thousands of people were at Union Square, and officers flocked to the scene in an attempt to break up the gigantic crowd. Kai and other people in the crowd were taken into custody at some point during the mess.
Kai Cenat and Fanum caused a riot in NYC's Union Square after promising to distribute free PS5s, PCs, gift cards, etc.
— BoreCure (@CureBore) August 4, 2023
Hundreds of youngsters gathered, leading to fights.
The NYPD was on scene to disperse the crowd and warned of mass transit disruptions and traffic delays. pic.twitter.com/qZhbM2MpOE
Clips from inside the madness have been circulating online, showing people getting attacked, garbage flying, and even some folks on top of a gazebo. It looks like a majority of the people in the swarm are pretty young, too.
For those unaware, Kai is one of the biggest streamers on Twitch, garnering 6.5M on the platform -- and another 5.5M on Instagram alone.
It's unclear if the giveaway ever actually happened -- and no word yet on what exactly sparked the crowd, if anything at all, to act erratic.