YouTuber's Harrowing Kidnapping Prank Goes Viral

Footage of YouTuber and streamer Darren "IShowSpeed" Watkins Jr.'s prank kidnapping on the streets of Brazil has gone viral on social media.

Watkins, 18, has been sharing footage of his visit to the South American country, which has included time spent with soccer legend Ronaldo. One viral video shared on Wednesday showed the teenager viewing Ronaldo's Ballon d'Or trophy.

However, another clip showing a distressed Watkins in a far less thrilling situation—where he was briefly led to believe he was about to be robbed and kidnapped—has also garnered attention on social media.

In the clip, Ohio native Watkins was shown walking with a group of men in a favela, one of the shantytowns located within or on the outskirts of Brazil's large cities, when a gang wearing balaclavas was seen approaching them.

Wielding planks of wood, the men in the gang were quickly held back by those in Watkins' group, as they appeared to be pleading for there to be no trouble. Looking terrified, a cornered Watkins was dragged by his soccer jersey through the street.

Keeping his hands raised in the air, Watkins, who has more than 22 million subscribers on YouTube, slumped to the ground and looked on in terror as chaos ensued around him between the purported battling factions.

A camera person, seemingly accompanying the YouTuber, continues to film amid the chaos.

Watkins soon learned that it was all part of an elaborate prank. However, he was seen looking emotionally overwhelmed and distressed on learning this, crying and repeatedly yelling "oh my God" as the now-smiling group hugged him and chanted.

"Speed got pranked into a fake kidnapping by a Brazilian Favela and his reaction is gold," read a caption accompanying the video on X, formerly Twitter, where it has garnered more than 330,000 views.

A clip showing another vantage point of the prank, posted on the account @DramaAlert, has clocked up more than 24 million views at the time of publication.

Newsweek has contacted Watkins via Instagram for comment.

Florida-based YouTuber YourFellowArab, whose content often shows him in dangerous scenarios and visiting dangerous places, was the one behind the prank, which he later discussed in an interview with streaming content hub Dexterto.

The social media star revealed that he would have pranked Watkins with guns and other lethal weapons had there been intentions to post the video on Kick instead of YouTube.

"Because it was a YouTube and not a Kick stream, they would have allowed that, we told them to do it with no weapons, just baseball bats and stuff," he said.

However, a consequence of the prank has been Watkins not yet forgiving him. YourFellowArab told the outlet that he believes the views will change Watkins' stance, adding: "I knew it would go viral."

"As for the gang members, I believe it's a sign that when you come in and show respect and you approve these people can be humane, a lot of the time their fights are with each other," he said. "Don't get me wrong, these guys can do bad things, it's part of being somewhere lawless, but people need to stop being afraid of these places."

Correction 1/12/24, 4:03 a.m. ET: This article was updated to remove a reference to Cristiano Ronaldo.