Summary

Steven Kenneth Bonnell II, better known by his online moniker Destiny, has been banned fromKickover “hate speech.” That’s according to the streamer himself, who revealed as much in a polarizing social media post.

Although he rose to prominence for his gaming content, being among the first full-time video gamestreamers on Twitch, Destiny is nowadays mostly known for his political commentary. He identifies as a social democrat and is an outspoken advocate for liberal and progressive politics. Destiny rarely shied away from clashing with online personalities over his political views, and has long been seen as a polarizing public figure due to his confrontational debating style and tendency to make provocative statements, among other things.

Destiny Temporarily Kicked From Kick Over ‘Hate Speech’

Following his indefinite Twitch ban,Destiny moved to Kickin early 2023. Some 16 months later, he was handed his first ban from the Stake-backed streaming service, which was issued in the late evening hours ET on July 16. The streamer himself confirmed as much in a recenttweet, which includes a screenshot of his email from Kick that reveals his first-ever account suspension from the platform will be in effect until July 31. The tweet itself prompted heavily polarized reactions from Twitter users, not least because Destiny used it as an opportunity to assert that he is “never apologizing” to stateside conservatives, whom he referred to with a derogatory term.

That remark was likely prompted by the reactions to Destiny’s comments on the attempted assassination offormer U.S. President Donald Trumpat his July 13 presidential campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania. Some of the streamer’s controversial statements on the matter mocked the death of Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old who was in attendance at the Butler rally and was killed by Thomas Matthew Crooks during the assassination attempt.

Prior to that, Destiny also appeared on the latest episode of thePiers Morgan Uncensoredshow, where he refused to condemn people celebrating the assassination attempt and clashed with Florida Republican Congressman Cory Mills over his political views. Twitter had already demonetized Destiny for inciting “violent speech” with such remarks by that time, as publicly confirmed by the platform’s owner, Elon Musk. According to social media reports from his purported followers, the content creator expressed similar sentiments during his recent Kick streams by, e.g., asking people not to mourn Comperatore. Game Rant was unable to verify these claims.

The online reactions toDestiny’s banare highly polarizing. While some social media users asked him to dial down on his rhetoric, which they perceive as divisive, others characterized his Kick suspension as an example of double standards, arguing that the platform is turning a blind eye to much worse behavior from people on the other side of the ideological spectrum.