Destiny | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Personal information | |||||||
Born | Steven Kenneth Bonnell II December 12, 1988 [1] Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. | ||||||
Occupations |
| ||||||
Spouse | Melina Göransson (m. 2021;div. 2023) | ||||||
Children | 1 | ||||||
Website | destiny | ||||||
YouTube information | |||||||
Channels | |||||||
Years active | 2013–present | ||||||
Genres | |||||||
Subscribers |
| ||||||
Total views |
| ||||||
Associated acts | |||||||
| |||||||
Twitch information | |||||||
Channel | |||||||
Years active | 2011–2022 | ||||||
Genre | Politics/Gaming | ||||||
Followers | 699,700 (before his indefinite suspension) | ||||||
TikTok information | |||||||
Followers | 196.2 thousand (August 4, 2024) | ||||||
Likes | 7.8 million (August 4, 2024) | ||||||
Instagram information | |||||||
Page | |||||||
Followers | 100 thousand (August 4, 2024) | ||||||
Last updated: August 4, 2024 |
Steven Kenneth Bonnell II (born December 12, 1988), known online as Destiny, is an American live streamer and political commentator. He was among the first people to stream video games online full-time. [5] Since 2016, he has streamed political debates with other online personalities, in which he advocates for liberal and social democratic politics. [6] [7] [8]
Steven Kenneth Bonnell II was born in Omaha, Nebraska. [6] He was raised in a conservative Catholic home, [6] and he attended Creighton Preparatory School, a private Jesuit high school for boys. [7] When he was a pre-teen, his mother's home day care business collapsed, and his family's home was foreclosed. [7] A few years later his parents moved to take care of an aging relative, after which he lived with his grandmother until he was 18. During his childhood, Bonnell played Japanese role-playing games, which he says made him an adept reader. [6]
In 2007, Bonnell enrolled at the University of Nebraska Omaha, where he studied music while working as a restaurant manager at a casino, mostly at night. Struggling to juggle both his education and full-time work, Bonnell dropped out of college in 2010. Within a year, he was fired from his job, which he attributes to his difficulty navigating workplace politics and understanding others' emotional experiences. [6]
Bonnell later found work as a carpet cleaner, working 12-hour days for commission. His average pay was $3–4 an hour (equivalent to $4.2–5.6 an hour in 2023). [6] [7]
In 2011, Bonnell quit his job as a carpet cleaner to stream video games full-time. Streaming his Starcraft II matches on livestream.com and ustream.tv, [9] then Justin.tv (now Twitch), he was immediately financially successful. [5] [7] [10] In October of that year, Bonnell joined professional team Quantic Gaming and placed 4th in the 2011 MLG Global North American invitational. [11] During his years as a Starcraft II streamer, Bonnell was known for his abrasive and confrontational style, including use of "acerbic and often offensive" comments against other players for shock humor. [5]
Starting in 2016, Bonnell live-streamed political debates with other internet personalities. Bonnell debated YouTuber Jon Jafari, better known as JonTron, on immigration and assimilation in March 2017, after Jafari tweeted in support of anti-immigration statements by Republican congressman Steve King. In his debate with Bonnell, Jafari's statements concerning race, crime, and immigration were seen as controversial by viewers, and the subsequent backlash garnered media attention. [12] [13] [14] [15]
Bonnell received a 30-day suspension from Twitch in summer 2018 for using the word faggot. [16] In November 2018, Bonnell and fellow streamer Trihex (Mychal Ramon Jefferson) premiered a political commentary collaboration, TheDT Podcast. The podcast streamed its final episode in October 2019, during which Jefferson confronted Bonnell regarding statements the latter had made defending his use of offensive humor—including racial slurs—in private. [7] [17] Fellow Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who had previously reached out to "to form an allegiance", distanced himself from Bonnell in-part because the controversy. [7]
Bonnell was indefinitely banned from Twitch due to "hateful conduct" in March 2022. [18] [19] [20] Dot Esports speculates that this may have been due to Bonnell streaming with white nationalist Nick Fuentes, who had previously been banned from the platform, while Bonnell speculated it was due to him expressing the view that "trans women shouldn't compete with cis women in women's athletics". [18] [19] [21] In October 2024, Bonnell alleged that the reason behind his ban on the platform was for his characterization of online transgender activists as being "inbred". [22]
Bonnell interviewed U.S. Representative Ro Khanna, alongside other political streamers such as Vaush, Emma Vigeland (co-host of The Majority Report), and Keffals, about various topics in September 2023, including the importance of youth political participation and ways to push progressive political sentiment, as well as asking questions about Khanna. [23] [24] [25] In March 2024, he appeared on the Lex Fridman Podcast in a debate with activist Norman Finkelstein, historian Benny Morris, and political analyst Mouin Rabbani regarding the history of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and the ongoing Israel–Hamas war. [26]
In late 2024, members of Bonnell's Reddit and Discord communities began participating in an online campaign against Twitch, pressuring Twitch advertisers under the allegation that the website was promoting antisemitic content. Some activists of the campaign were led by Dan Saltman, an online commentator and Bonnell's podcast co-host, who has launched multiple gripe sites that targeted Twitch's CEO Dan Clancy and Amazon vice-president Steve Boom. Saltman stated that "The goal of our campaign is simple: The CEO, Dan Clancy stepping down." [20] Bonnell has stated that his personal involvement in the campaign has been minimal. According to Bloomberg writer Cecilia D'Anastasio, both Bonnell's and Saltman's fans harassed multiple Twitch employees, including members of the company's trust and safety department. [27] Critics of the campaign also accused Bonnell and Saltman of harassing female journalists. [20] Saltman was ultimately banned from Twitch in November due to the stated reason of "extreme harassment". In response, Saltman stated that "allegations of harassment are often made by people who have been exposed for their bigotry, sexism and hatred". [27]
This article is part of a series on |
Liberalism in the United States |
---|
Bonnell identified as a libertarian, anti-SJW "with right-of-center social beliefs" until 2012, when his political outlook began shifting toward social liberalism after an incident in which he heard another streamer use a homophobic slur. [6] [7] Bonnell has argued against certain aspects of both far-right politics and far-left politics. [6] [7] Furthermore, he has promoted the idea that college campuses should have students who have diverse opinions in order to reduce polarization. [28]
In 2019, Bonnell began publicly debating in favor of capitalism against socialists and communists. [6] Bonnell has stated that his intention is not to persuade their opponents but to persuade the audience; although he has expressed that airing his opinions often feels "like screaming into the void", he estimates he has received hundreds of emails from former members of the alt-right crediting him for their conversion to left-wing politics. [6] [7] Subsequent journalistic and academic coverage of right-wing YouTube commentary has credited Bonnell as an early and effective opposition to it, particularly owing to his provocative, combative debate style which appeals to right-wing gaming audiences. [3] [6]
Bonnell was notified in September 2020 that his Twitch partnership agreement would be terminated the following month for "encouragement of violence". The termination came as a result of comments made on-stream after the Kenosha unrest shooting, in which Bonnell expressed opposition to riots at the George Floyd protests. [29] Bonnell said: [30] [31]
"The rioting needs to fucking stop, and if that means like white redneck fucking militia dudes out there mowing down dipshit protesters that think that they can torch buildings at ten p.m., then at this point they have my fucking blessing, because holy shit, this fucking shit needs to stop, it needed to stop a long time ago." [31]
Bonnell later said that Kyle Rittenhouse was clearly misguided but that his frustration was with rioters who Bonnell believed would scare people into voting for Donald Trump again. [32]
After the first 2024 assassination attempt of Donald Trump, which killed one Trump rally attendee and injured two others, [33] Bonnell stated that Trump and his supporters "reap what they sow, and I'm here to watch the harvest". The Economist cited Bonnell as an example of an "angry progressive" who "lamented" that the attempt had failed. [34]
Following the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, Bonnell expressed sympathy for Israel, stating, "The Palestinians are oppressed by all the Arab countries, and no country from them, which is supposed to be on 'their' side, has bothered to offer them a real solution—and yet, their anger is directed fully at Israel, and unjustifiably in my opinion." [35] In a debate with Nathan J. Robinson, Bonnell argued against the Palestinian right of return, believing it would make peace and a two-state solution impossible. Robinson responded by arguing that Arab leaders (Yasser Arafat and the Arab Peace Initiative) had shown a willingness to compromise on the right of return. [36]
In March 2024, he appeared on the Lex Fridman Podcast in a debate with Norman Finkelstein, historian Benny Morris, and political analyst Mouin Rabbani regarding the Israeli–Hamas conflict. [26] In multiple videos on his YouTube channel, Bonnell has criticized streamer Hasan Piker, including for Piker's criticism of Israel. [27]
In a conversation about immigration with the YouTuber Carl Benjamin, popularly known by the pseudonym Sargon of Akkad, Bonnell expressed his general view that, because immigration lowers the cost of labor for companies hiring low-wage earners, it is good to have high levels of immigration. Furthermore, in order to fix the wealth disparity caused by both the lowered wages of low-wage earners and the heightened wages of high-wage earners, Bonnell proposed raising taxes on the wealthy and distributing their earnings to the poor. [37]
In 2021, Bonnell debated Marxian economist Richard D. Wolff, with Bonnell defending capitalism. In that debate, Bonnell described the label of "socialism" as poorly defined, and noted a history of famine and abuses in countries like the Soviet Union and China, while Wolff responded by attempting to correct perceived misrepresentations from Bonnell of his views on socialism throughout the debate. [8] Bonnell has cited his poverty during his teenage and college-aged years as an influence on his views, and says that he prefers to argue based on empirical data rather than moral suasion. [7]
In 2020, Bonnell supported the general election campaign of Joe Biden. [38] Following Biden's victory, Bonnell led a canvassing campaign in support of Democratic candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock in the 2020–21 Georgia Senate runoffs. [39] With the help of approximately 140 volunteers mobilized from Bonnell's online audience, the campaign knocked on an estimated 17,500–20,000 doors in Columbus, Georgia, making it one of the larger campaigns of the election. [40] Bonnell led another canvassing operation in support of Mark Gudgel for the 2021 Omaha mayoral election. [41] On March 3, 2021, Gudgel officially cut ties with Bonnell over the latter's statements regarding riots at the George Floyd protests. [31] [42]
In February 2024, Bonnell spearheaded canvassing efforts by political activist group Progressive Victory in Cincinnati, Ohio, to support Sherrod Brown in the Ohio US senate race. [43] [44]
Bonnell lived in Nebraska before relocating to the Los Angeles area in December 2018. [7] [6] In late 2021, he moved to Miami, Florida. [45]
Bonnell has been married twice and has a son. [46] He is openly bisexual, [47] and his second marriage was an open marriage with Swedish streamer Melina Göransson. [7] [48] [49] Bonnell and Göransson married in December 2021. [50] They separated and filed for divorce in December 2023. [51]
Twitch is an US video live-streaming service popular in video games, including broadcasts of esports competitions. It also offers music broadcasts, creative content, and "in real life" streams. Twitch is operated by Twitch Interactive, a subsidiary of Amazon. It was introduced in June 2011 as a spin-off of the general-interest streaming platform Justin.tv.
Mychal Ramon Jefferson, better known online as Trihex, is an American professional gamer, speedrunner, and Twitch streamer. He is best known for his runs of Super Mario and Yoshi games—including several notable appearances at Games Done Quick events—and as the face of TriHard, one of Twitch's most popular emotes.
Steven Jason Williams, better known by his online alias Boogie2988 or simply Boogie, is an American YouTuber best known for his video rants about video games and nerd culture as a character named Francis.
Félix Lengyel, better known as xQc, is a Canadian online streamer, influencer, and former professional Overwatch player.
Imane Anys, known professionally as Pokimane, is a Canadian-Moroccan online streamer, YouTuber, influencer, and internet personality.
Ludwig Anders Ahgren, known mononymously as Ludwig, is an American live streamer, YouTuber, podcaster, comedian, esports commentator, and competitor. Ahgren is best known for his live streams on Twitch from 2018 through late 2021, and on YouTube beginning in late 2021, where he broadcasts video-game-related content as well as non-video-game-related content such as game shows and contests. He is also known for his work as an esports commentator at various Super Smash Bros. Melee tournaments. He is the co-owner of the esports organization Moist Esports. He began streaming full-time on February 16, 2019.
Asmongold, also known as ZackRawrr, is an American YouTuber, content creator, and Twitch streamer. His content primarily focuses on World of Warcraft, but he has covered other video games and topics related to gaming culture. He is a co-founder and co-owner of the streaming, gaming, and content creation organization One True King (OTK), based in Austin, Texas. He is also a co-owner of Starforge Systems, a computer company specialized in selling prebuilt gaming PCs. In October 2024, he stepped down from leadership positions within both OTK and Starforge Systems following industry backlash to controversial comments he made regarding Palestinians.
Hasan Doğan Piker, also known as HasanAbi, is a Turkish-American online streamer, YouTuber, influencer, and left-wing political commentator. His streams typically consist of political and social commentary, gaming, and media consumption. As of 2024, Piker is the most subscribed political commentator and has the nineteenth-most subscribed channel of all time on the streaming platform Twitch.
Mizkif, also known as Matthew Rinaudo, is an American Twitch streamer and YouTuber. He is a founding member and co-owner of the gaming organization One True King. He was named Best Just Chatting Streamer at the 2022 Streamer Awards.
Charles Christopher White Jr., better known as Cr1TiKaL, MoistCr1TiKaL, or penguinz0 is an American YouTuber and streamer. He is best known for his commentary videos and live streams covering internet culture and video games. His content is mostly characterized by his monotonous voice, white shirt, deadpan comedic style, and long hair, which has earned him the nickname of "Internet Jesus". In addition, White is the co-founder and co-owner of the esports organization Moist Esports and co-founder and member of the musical duo the Gentle Men.
AustinShow is an American Twitch streamer, YouTuber, podcaster, and media personality. He is known for hosting various talk and dating shows on Twitch, including Love or Host. He co-hosts the podcast "Fear&" with Hasan Piker, QTCinderella, and Will Neff which features various guests.
Thomas Michael Simons, better known as TommyInnit, is an English YouTuber, Twitch streamer and comedian. He produces Minecraft-related videos and live streams, including collaborations with fellow YouTubers and streamers in the Dream SMP.
Maya Elaine Higa is an American conservationist, falconer, wildlife rehabilitator, Twitch streamer, and YouTuber. She is the founder of Alveus Sanctuary, a non-profit exotic animal sanctuary and virtual education center based in Austin, Texas.
Adin David Ross is an American internet personality and online streamer. He is known for his collaborations with celebrities and livestreams of the NBA 2K and Grand Theft Auto V video games. He previously streamed on Twitch, from which he was permanently banned in 2023. The same year, he signed a deal with Kick.
Ian Anthony Kochinski, better known as Vaush, is an American left-wing YouTuber and Twitch streamer. Kochinski started his online career as a member of streamer Destiny's community, before creating his Twitch channel and YouTube account in 2019. His content consists of commentary on various news and media topics, alongside debates and discussions with various political figures. Noted for his confrontational style, use of memes, and mimicry from right-wing YouTubers, he is regarded as part of the BreadTube community.
Emily Schunk, known professionally as Emiru, is an American online streamer, YouTuber and cosplayer.
Blaire, known online as QTCinderella, is an American Twitch streamer, YouTuber, and podcaster. She is the creator and host of The Streamer Awards. She is also a co-host of the Wine About It podcast and the Fear& podcast.
Clara Sorrenti, better known as Keffals, is a Canadian former Twitch streamer, transgender activist, left-wing political commentator and former candidate of the Communist Party of Canada. She has since ended her affiliation with the Communist Party.
Leftovers was an American leftist political podcast hosted by Ethan Klein and Hasan Piker on the H3 Podcast. It focused on politics and internet culture.
Some angry progressives are lamenting that the bullet grazed Mr Trump's ear, missing his skull by millimetres. Destiny, a leftist social-media commentator, told his 250,000 X followers that Mr Trump and his supporters will "reap what they sow, and I'm here to watch the harvest".
Melina and I are currently in an open/poly relationship. We treat each other as primary partners, though we may pursue other sexual/romantic relationships as well.