Global YouTube superstar IShowSpeed is under investigation for breaching his New Zealand visa after he was mobbed by fans in Rotorua while performing a haka on Sunday.
IShowSpeed, real name Darren Jason Watkins Jr, has 33 million subscribers on YouTube, with his livestreams of wild stunts and celebrity collaborations garnering around three billion views.
The 19-year-old American was in New Zealand as a part of his Australasian tour and caught the attention of immigration due to a potential breach of his tourist visa conditions.
Watkins reportedly makes over US$1million per year in revenue form his YouTube channel, raising questions about whether he should have been on a workers visa to film content.
The Youtuber, who landed back in Sydney on Tuesday, said he wanted to play rugby, eat a pie and learn the haka during his first New Zealand livestream.
It comes after controversial OnlyFans stars Bonnie Blue and Annie Knight were deported from Fiji last week for breaching their tourist visas while visiting the country to film content with ‘barely legal 18-year-olds’.
Global YouTube superstar IShowSpeed is under investigation for breaching his New Zealand visa after he was mobbed by fans in Rotorua while performing a haka on Sunday
A massive crowd found the streamer in Rotorua on Sunday and several men began performing the Ka Mate haka, popularised by the All Blacks and more recently 22-year-old MP Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke, for him.
‘What the f*** is that? Oh yeah! I wanna do that!’ he exclaimed.
The streamer asked the group to teach him the haka, and one man instructed the crowd to follow him with ‘two slaps on the thighs’ and then pulling his arms back ‘in for two’.
More than 53,000 people watched the moment unfold on Watkins’ livestream.
While some commenters were quick to question if an American performing the haka was ‘disrespectful’, the NZ Herald reported that Māori YouTuber Jimmi Jackson also took part in the livestream and actually helped to teach Watkins the haka before he led a performance in front of the entrance of Whakarewarewa – the Living Māori Village.
However, if visiting New Zealand on a visitor visa you are not legally allowed to work, and can be served a deportation notice if found to have broken the visa conditions.
Immigration New Zealand confirmed to 1News that Watkins was in the country on a visitor’s visa and travelling with a visa waiver.
A massive crowd found the streamer in Rotorua on Sunday and several men began performing the Ka Mate haka, popularised by the All Blacks and more recently 22-year-old MP Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke, for him
Watkins reportedly makes over US$1million per year in revenue form his YouTube channel
‘In general, individuals require a work visa (or hold a visa with conditions that allow for work) to engage in activities that result in gain or reward (such as payment) during their time in New Zealand,’ an INZ spokesperson told the news network.
‘In assessing this case, we will follow our standard compliance procedures.’
The internet sensation’s visit Down Under saw him mobbed by fans as he visited Queenstown, Auckland, and Rotorua in recent days, with school kids ditching classes to try and meet him.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk