Banned Kick streamer Johnny Somali is once again creating controversy abroad after police in South Korea removed him from a subway for playing loud and inappropriate noises during a live broadcast.
Johnny Somali is infamous for his disruptive live streams, most notably getting arrested and fined by Japanese authorities for broadcasting loudly in a restaurant and allegedly trespassing on a construction site in Japan in 2023.
Since that incident, he’s continued his travels, facing bans from places like Jerusalem and now encountering South Korean police.
In a September 2024 live stream, Somali rode the subway to Lotte World for a K-Pop-themed dance class, bringing his viewers along for the ride. During the trip, his text-to-speech donations began playing loud, inappropriate sounds.
9/30 11:52 Johnny Somali @JohnnySomaliX starts KoreaIRL day 4. He goes to Lotte World for a KPOP dance class, then plans to meet up with Bongbongirl. He’s getting into trouble for playing obscene audio and TTS on the subway. https://t.co/u64DTKbb6w pic.twitter.com/1OLq0EwLWU
— Johnny Limasso (@canceljohnnys) September 30, 2024
Somali walked through the train, shouting, “George Floyd — I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe,” attracting the attention of other travelers. One passenger even approached him, asking him to be quiet on public transport.
It wasn’t long before police surrounded the streamer and escorted him off the train, appearing unfazed by his claims that he was live streaming.
“Goddamn it guys, I am getting pressed,” Somali told his chat. “This is crazy. The police are already here. We gotta go on the taxi.”
After receiving complaints about the noise, subway staff warn Johnny Somali to stop broadcasting. Johnny leaves the station once for fear of being reported, but gets back on the train.pic.twitter.com/AUvBeyIlc0
— Johnny Limasso (@canceljohnnys) September 30, 2024
In South Korea, as well as Japan, it is considered rude to speak loudly or exhibit disruptive behavior on public transportation. Somali has faced criticism from locals for such behaviors multiple times and has even been physically confronted by angry citizens in the past.
Despite the backlash against him, Somali asserts that he will continue streaming. He has even threatened to sue critics, including PewDiePie, for accusing him of “ruining” countries like Japan for tourists and foreigners.
Although Kick has previously banned the streamer for “promoting violent behavior,” he maintains an active presence on platforms like YouTube, where he currently has over 18,000 subscribers.
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