[alt text: several screenshots of posts on twitter. The bottom post is a tweet from @DrDisrespect on twitter, which says, “LIVE in 30 minutes. I just installed Deadlock… what the hell is this game? If it’s from Valve, I must know. I must… understand the future of multiplayer gaming.” This Dr Disrespect tweet is a screenshot being shared by @IntelDeadlock on twitter. Their post includes text that says, “Dr Disrespect is playing Deadlock today! Please avoid queue if you are a minor”. The top post is another, later tweet from @IntelDeadlock on twitter, which says, “His entire team left his very first game”. The post includes a screenshot of Dr Disrespect’s livestream.]
it’s rockstar syndrome, same as always. People who become famous for being good at something start to think of themselves as invincible. Combine that with minors specifically treating the rockstar like they are a god that could do no wrong, and any pedophilic tendencies are gonna worm their way out.
With online celebrities specifically, I think the unique circumstance is that people can go from unknown to world-famous in a relatively short span of time, and they haven’t learned how to conduct themselves in that context in a way that they might if they achieved that fame more slowly. For a recently famous person like that, direct DM access to fans is a dangerous thing.