The 2025 Streamer Awards were supposed to be a night where the internet came together to celebrate the creators who dominate the Twitch and YouTube space. Held at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles, the show was founded by streamer and digital creator QTCinderella and debuted in 2021. From the beginning, the ceremony set itself apart as a fan-driven celebration of livestreaming culture, spotlighting the gamers, entertainers, and personalities who make logging on feel like a community. Co-hosted by QT and Maya Higa, the show embraces its identity as a love letter to creators and a fan-first tribute to the people who make the internet feel alive. This year, that mission was overshadowed in the final moments of the night, and not for reasons anyone hoped.
Instead of ending on celebration, the spotlight landed on two jaw-dropping moments, both involving jokes made at the expense of Black streamers, which ignited outrage, confusion, and a wave of backlash across social media.
Fanfan Comparing Kai Cenat to Sean “Diddy” Combs
The first incident occurred when presenter and digital creator Fanfan attempted a joke comparing Kai Cenat to Sean “Diddy” Combs. “Congratulations on your new documentary with 50 Cent… that was you, right?” she said, laughing as the audience fell silent and Cenat looked unimpressed. The reference pointed to Netflix’s newly released documentary Sean Combs: The Reckoning, produced by 50 Cent, which details Combs’s rise to fame and the legal troubles that led to his arrest and conviction.
Cenat’s fanbase has occasionally joked about a physical resemblance between him and Combs, especially after he cut his locs in September. Yet Fanfan’s comment was widely criticized as poorly timed given the documentary’s detailed allegations of sexual assault, physical abuse, drug use, and possible homicide.
Cenat went on to win several awards, including Best Stream Collab with Lebron James, Best Marathon Stream for Mafiathon 3, Best Streamed Event for Streamer University, and Best Just Chatting Streamer. However, the moment left many viewers stunned. Comparing a rising Black creator to someone facing serious allegations, especially during an event meant to uplift streamers, landed like a gut punch. Clips spread quickly, and criticism followed just as fast.
Tylil Presses Fanfan for the Flopped Joke
After Fanfan’s remark, streamer Tylil of the Clover Boys called her out from the audience, taking the microphone and saying, “If you’re going to be on the mic making jokes, at least let it be funny.” Audience members could be heard cheering in agreement. Fanfan simply responded, “I thought it was funny.”
Deshae Frost and Plaqueboymax Mix-Up
Another uncomfortable moment followed during the announcement of Best Music Streamer. The winner, Plaqueboymax, was recognized for his series In The Booth. However, the camera mistakenly focused on Deshae Frost instead. Viewers quickly criticized the production error, calling out its racist undertones and pointing to a pattern throughout the show.
QT Cinderella Calls Out RaKai’s Stealing Allegations
The night’s second major controversy came from co-founder and co-host QTCinderella. During a segment, she asked Black streamer RaKai, “What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever stolen?” The question appeared to reference RaKai’s recent Twitch ban after allegedly shoplifting flowers from a retail store. The comment did not read as a playful roast. Instead, audiences felt it crossed a line, turning a real-life controversy into onstage fodder.
This moment also sparked immediate backlash, with online users calling the show tone-deaf, culturally unaware, and at times outright microaggressive.
Whether viewers saw these moments as cringe, careless, or racially insensitive, one thing is clear: the 2025 Streamer Awards did not go as planned. What should have been a night honoring online creators instead became an evening defined by missteps, awkward jokes, and criticism from across the internet.