Fans 'genuinely worried' for controversial YouTuber Fousey after he calls police on himself during 12-day livestream

On Wednesday, the popular and controversial YouTuber and Twitch streamer Fousey — real name Yousef Saleh Erakat — called the Miami Police Department over a false claim during the 12th day of a subathon on Kick, a livestreaming platform. (A subathon is a marathon streaming event creators stage to increase their subscribers.)

Erakat has over 10 million subscribers on YouTube. Earlier this month, he was banned from Twitch twice in one week. First, for saying the n-word while singing along to J. Cole’s song “Love Yourz” on a stream; second, allegedly for filming an interaction with a drunk stranger in an airport.

During the stream on Aug. 23, Erakat was sitting in his hotel room at the InterContinental Hotel in Miami with a security guard, when he decided to call 911. In the call, which was captured on camera, Erakat told the operator that he was dealing with a stalker who, he alleged, was calling him and his mom with threats.

At one point, after repeatedly urging the dispatcher to send officers, he started yelling obscenities over the phone. He then told the person on the phone that there was a gun pointed at his head — effectively “swatting” the authorities. In the footage, Erakat does not have a gun to his head, and it’s not confirmed whether officers found a gun on the premises when they arrived.

Swatting, which describes the practice of filing a fake police report, specifically about an urgent or violent incident like a hostage situation or active shooter, is illegal.

Around 10 minutes later, Miami PD officers arrived — caught on the live stream — and Erakat reiterated that he was dealing with alleged threats from a stalker. When officers asked follow-up questions, Erakat started to repeatedly call them “dumb f***s.”

The final moments of the Kick stream show officers putting Erakat in handcuffs. TMZ reported that, allegedly after the livestream ended, Miami PD escorted Erakat to a hospital for a mental health evaluation.

This isn’t the first time that fans have been concerned for Erakat’s mental health. In 2018, after hosting the disastrous Hate Dies Love Arrives — which was advertised as the “next Coachella” but had no venue five days before the event and attracted only 1,500 people — Erakat announced that the whole thing was a product of a “humiliating” manic episode and that he would be taking a mental health break.

It wasn’t just the 911 call that had viewers concerned. About an hour before Erakat’s arrest, Erakat looked directly into the camera and accused MrBeast of “paying” his friend Kris Tyson to transition. A clip of the moment circulated on Reddit. Then, on Aug. 21, Erakat also filmed himself walking in the middle of a busy Miami freeway. Kick viewers begged him to get off the road and called for someone to intervene and take his camera away.

As of reporting, Erakat has not commented on the arrest or the stream.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental illness or mental health concerns, contact the National Alliance on Mental Illness at 1-800-950-6264. You can also connect with a Crisis Text Line counselor at no charge by texting the word “HOME” to 741741. Visit the NAMI website to learn more about signs and symptoms of various mental health conditions.

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