Overview

The "Million Dollar Fan" Scam Allegations and the LivestreamFail Reddit Mod Stale2000 Controversy refer to claims that a streamer-centric gameshow called Million Dollar Fan (MDF), with a $20 million prize pool, which was supported by several major streamers, purported to be airing on Amazon Prime, and partnered with the /r/LivestreamFail (LSF) subreddit, was a scam. Accusations that MDF was a scam went viral in mid-January 2026 after YouTuber Cr1TiKaL posted two videos about it, in which he pointed out suspicious things on the site and in the claims about the show. Five streamers dropped out as a result of the scam accusations. The event was then canceled, and the site was taken down.

After Cr1TiKaL's video, the former LSF head mod who goes by Stale2000 posted a video explaining the situation and how promoting MDF got him removed by Reddit from his moderating position. In the video, he claims that there is no proof that MDF was a scam and complains about Reddit's management and treatment of mods, claiming he was unfairly removed as head mod over a lack of communication and care for mods. Stale2000 suggests that Reddit mods should be treated like influencers due to their "power and influence" and should be provided resources to help them. The video was widely criticized online and became the subject of memes and reactions in the following days.

Background

Cr1TiKaL's "This Twitch Streamer Show Feels Like A Huge Scam" Video

On January 12th, 2026, YouTuber^[1] Penguinz0, aka Moist Cr1TiKaL, posted a video titled "This Twitch Streamer Show Feels Like A Huge Scam" about a purported game show contest called Million Dollar Fan that promises a $20-million prize. The video gained over 948,000 views in nine days.

Cr1TiKaL starts the video by pointing out the alleged use of AI on MDF's website, claiming the whole thing smells like a scam, and that the contest rules are unclear. He shows a page of some streamers who have promoted the contest, claiming that Twitch streamer Extra Emily recently retracted her support after her viewers brought the possibility that it was a scam to her attention.

Cr1TiKaL then reads the "About Us" page, which explains the contest, saying that it seems AI-generated. Cr1TiKaL asks for more information about who is actually running the production. He then looks at the partners for the contest and specifically finds it funny that LSF is a partner, wondering who the "puppet master" at LSF is behind this.

He continues to pick apart the website, pointing out weird links, site registration locations and more. Cr1TiKaL then shows the clip of Extra Emily talking about the contest, in which she shares doubts about it after learning that LSF is involved as a partner. She apologizes for supporting it without doing more research, while also blaming the talent agency Mythic Talent for not vetting it.

Cr1TiKaL's "I Guess It Was A Scam All Along" Video

On January 13th, 2026, YouTuber^[2] Penguinz0 posted a follow-up video about MDF, garnering over 2.6 million views in eight days.

Cr1TiKaL starts the video by claiming that the MDF website was taken down not long after he posted his first video, believing they are trying to scrub their existence from the web. He also mentions that the pinned LSF post announcing the competition was removed. Cr1TiKaL says that he believes this supports his beliefs that the contest was a scam.

Cr1TiKaL then states he reached out to an agent at a streamer talent agency who got a proposal from MDF. He saw the pitch deck, and it was purportedly "extraordinarily different" from what was written on the site, claiming that MDF was streaming on Amazon Prime. Cr1TiKaL also talked to a streamer, who was also told that it was going to be an Amazon Prime event. He reads through some of the copy they sent the streamer.

Purportedly, filming was supposed to take place in November 2025, but it was pushed to March 2026. Cr1TiKaL expresses confusion over why nobody would confirm that Amazon was working with MDF.

Developments

Former LSF Mod Stale2000's January 16th, 2026, Response Video To Scam Allegations

On January 16th, 2026, Stale2000, the former head moderator for LSF, posted a video on YouTube^[3] titled, "A Message to the CEO of Reddit, Spez, from r/livestreamfail's Former Top Mod," garnering over 200,000 views in five days.

In the video, Stale2000 begins by claiming he became a moderator because Reddit mods and communities have "massive power and influence." Stale2000 shares the belief that he was unfairly removed as head LSF mod over a "clear lack of support" that Reddit gives to its mods.

Stale2000 claims that he heard about the MDF contest through streamers. Hearing that it was supported by Amazon Prime, Mythic Talent and several big streamers, he thought it sounded promising. Stale2000 reached out to MDF to see if they could work with them on a collab for the subreddit. He also offered them a "stretch goal" to partner with LSF.

MDF purportedly agreed to work with LSF, leading Stale2000 to pin a post about MDF on the LSF subreddit. According to Stale2000, everybody on the subreddit called it a scam. Stale2000 then talks about seeing Extra Emily retract her support for the event, particularly over LSF's involvement. Stale2000 brought the concerns to MDF, and they assured him the show was still going on. Stale2000 said he trusted them.

Stale2000 started deleting comments on LSF sharing what he thought was misinformation about LSF and MDF, including claims that LSF mods took bribes from MDF to support the show, which he denies, claiming he has a job. Stale2000 then claims that there is a rule in Reddit's Terms of Service stating that, if you support something that turns out to be a scam, then delete comments and posts calling it a scam, that is seen as a cover-up. This was purportedly one of the main reasons he was dropped by Reddit admins as LSF's head mod.

Stale2000 then talks about Cr1TiKaL's impact on MDF. He says that shortly after Cr1TiKaL posted his videos, five streamers dropped out of the event, and it was therefore canceled. Stale2000 removed the promotional post from LSF. He criticizes Cr1TiKaL for failing to reach out to anyone involved with MDF and defends the competition, claiming that there is no definitive proof that it was a scam. He admits that "maybe I'll eat these words."

Stale2000 continues to suggest that "nothing illegal happened" regarding MDF. He then talks more about how he was disbarred as head mod of LSF for making the post supporting MDF. Stale2000 goes on to claim that his disbarment was unfair and vague, blaming those in charge of Reddit for a lack of support towards mods.

Nearing the end of the video, Stale2000 talks about how Reddit moderators and subreddits have power and influence, directly referencing the jannies memes. He talks about how Reddit mods control millions of impressions per day and talks about how careers have been "destroyed" because of LSF posts.

Stale2000 flexes his credentials as a Redditor and Reddit mod and claims he ultimately "failed" by promoting the alleged scam because of a lack of support from Reddit, which should have provided him the tools to sus out the situation further. Stale2000 continues to talk poorly about Reddit's higher-ups and talk about how they could become better through providing "real material support" to mods. He says that Reddit mods should be "treated like celebrities or influencers" because they have power and influence.

Stale2000 invites Reddit's CEO Spez (Steve Huffman) to talk with him in person and announces his new subreddit, /r/SubAlliance, claiming it will be a "non-profit, volunteer, community based initiative" to solve the problems he laid out. He says, "think talent agency, but for subreddits," meaning connections to companies, partnerships, mod recruitment help and more.

Cr1TiKaL's January 16th, 2026 Response To Stale2000

On January 16th, 2026, Cr1TiKaL posted a video on YouTube,^[5] titled "Reddit Mod Got Removed and Made a Wild Video," responding to Stale2000's video posted earlier that day, garnering over 4.5 million views in five days.

The video begins with Cr1TiKaL making fun of Stale2000 by comparing him to the stereotypical Reddit mod, summarizing the story behind Stale2000 being removed as an LSF mod. Cr1TiKaL then responds to the video, poking fun at Stale2000's claims that Redditors have massive power and influence. Cr1TiKaL believes that Stale2000 embodies the idea that people only become Reddit mods for a sense of power.

He criticizes Stale2000 for shirking much of the responsibility for promoting a scam onto Reddit's higher-ups for "not providing tools" that could have helped him avoid the situation. He also criticizes Stale2000's description of LSF, which many feel is toxic. Cr1TiKaL then takes a dig at Stale2000's claim that he didn't do his research and reiterates why he believes MDF was a scam, pointing out that their website and socials are all gone.

Cr1TiKaL believes that Stale2000's removal as head mod was justified for promoting an alleged scam. Cr1TiKaL says that people know that Reddit mods and Twitter communities have some power online, but that it happens without Stale2000 or people like him heading the mod team.

PaymoneyWubby Interviews New Head Mod of LSF

On January 16th, 2026, Twitch streamer PaymoneyWubby (Wubby) discussed the controversy surrounding Million Dollar Fan and the video uploaded by the former head moderator of /r/LivestreamFail, Stale2000.

During his discussion, around the 2:10:20 timestamp, a man called into his stream claiming to be the new head mod of LSF, who replaced Stale after he was removed by Reddit. The two then talked about the subreddit and related drama, explaining how Stale became the head mod and what he was like over the years while in charge of LSF. Additionally, he discussed his loose vision for the future of the subreddit now that he was head moderator. In five days, the livestream received over 109,300 views.

Stale2000's January 20th, 2026 Response To Cr1TiKaL

On January 20th, 2026, Stale2000 posted a response to Cr1TiKaL's response on YouTube,^[6] garnering over 22,000 views in a day.

In the video, Stale2000 addresses and "clears up" some of his statements about MDF and towards Cr1TiKaL. Stale2000 begins by admitting that he "got got" by MDF by not doing the right amount of research into the company. He then says, "But what about the company's perspective?" talking about Reddit. He claims that Reddit still suffers the reputational damage, liability, etc. because of his mistake, suggesting a company should make it a priority to make sure things like this aren't happening.

Stale2000 says that if there were a pipeline and process, this never would have happened, supporting the idea that Reddit needs a more solid process for situations like the one with MDF. Addressing Cr1TiKaL's criticism about Stale2000's description of LSF as a place for "wacky videos," Stale2000 says he's correct that the subreddit has been dominated by political drama for months and that he's tried to figure out how to deal with that. He claims that his attempt at partnering with MDF was an attempt to push new content to the subreddit.

Stale2000 repitches his concept of the partnership between MDF and LSF, explaining how it could have been funny. Stale2000 then shares redacted proof that they refunded everyone who paid into the event. He then addresses some of the jokes about his appearance and mannerisms, saying that these criticisms just prove that anyone, without background checks, is being given power over massive subreddits.

Online Reactions

The videos by former LSF head mod Stale2000 were largely met with criticism and mockery online, inspiring reactions and memes in late January 2026.

On January 17th, a portion of the video was posted to the /r/NotTimAndEric ^[7] subreddit, a community dedicated to posting content that resembles the absurdist comedy show Tim and Eric, garnering over 400 upvotes in four days.

That day, YouTuber Ricky Berwick posted a video parodying Stale2000 to X,^[8] garnering over 2,900 likes in four days.

On January 20th, journalist Taylor Lorenz made a post on X^[9] sharing one of Stale2000's clips, writing, "I am obsessed with this man I hope he never stops posting," garnering over 4,400 likes in a day.

/r/SubAlliance Subreddit

In the days after Stale2000 launched the /r/SubAlliance subreddit, the sub gained over 42,000 weekly visitors in about a week. Despite his desire for the subreddit to be used to address Reddit's shortcomings and help Reddit mods, the subreddit was instead inundated with memes criticizing Stale2000.

Search Interest

External References