xQc Reaction Content Controversy

Submission 11,745

Part of a series on xQc. [View Related Entries]

Overview

xQc Reaction Content Controversy refers to a series of internet discussions among streamers and their fans regarding the quality of Kick streamer xQc's "react" content. xQc is a former professional Overwatch player who often streams himself watching content or playing video games. In late July and August 2023, various creators (including SomeOrdinaryGamers and Ethan Klein from H3H3) accused xQc of profiting off other people's content while providing no additional value by streaming himself "reacting" to it. This claim was supported by footage of xQc leaving the room he is streaming from while a video by YouTuber neoexplains continues to play on his stream.

Background

On July 24th, 2023, YouTuber^[1] LEMMiNO posted a nearly hour-and-a-half-long video titled, "The Kennedy Assassination: Inside the Book Depository." The video gathered over 5 million views and favorable reviews from viewers.

Also on July 24th, streamer xQc posted a video "reacting" to LEMMiNO's video, titled, "The Kennedy Assassination | xQc Reacts to LEMMiNO." The video gathered over 400,000 views in 10 days.^[2]

On July 28th, 2023, Twitter user @FilmsBub^[3] posted a screenshot of xQc's upload with the caption, "lemmino spends months researching, scripting, and editing a video just for react streamers to reupload the entire thing and provide zero input." The post gathered over 70,000 likes in a week.

Twitter^[4] user and YouTuber OrdinaryGamers quote tweeted the post saying, "Just a shame garbage like this fills the recommended tab," gathering over 100,000 likes in a week (seen below).

Developments

On July 29th, 2023, xQc and OrdinaryGamers's Mutahar exchanged a series of tweets, with xQc defending his react-style content by saying, "I’m watching a vid I like to my people. That’s it." The tweet^[5] gathered over 15,000 likes in a week (seen below, left). Mutahar^[6] responded to xQc's statement by outlining the ways in which reaction content can be repetitive and cannibalize the original content's viewership (seen below, right).

xQc and Mutahar continued to exchange tweets debating the ethics of making and monetizing reaction content on the same platform where the original work is hosted (seen below, left).^[6]^[7] Later on July 29th, OrdinaryGamers posted a tweet^[8] quoting xQc saying, "Reacting to good content instead of whatever you post" alongside a screenshot of xQc reacting to his video (seen below, right). The post gathered over 80,000 likes in a week.

On August 1st, Twitter^[9] user and YouTuber NeoExplains posted a clip showing xQc reacting to his video and leaving the stream for several minutes while the video continues to play. The post gathered over 90,000 likes in four days.

Twitter^[10] user @AltHistCody quoted the post to add, "I don’t think xQc can even comprehend how this is bad. / His neurons can’t connect two and two together. / In his mind he thinks just streaming something makes it his content automatically / It’s why he streamed Dark Knight and was shocked Kick got pissed." The post gathered over 100,000 likes in four days (seen below).

On August 3rd, 2023, H3H3 productions hosted a stream guest starring Hasan Piker in which they discussed the recent debates over xQc's reaction content.^[11]

Twitter^[12] user @AugieRFC posted a clip from the stream with the caption, "BASED Ethan Klein rips Hasan a new asshole in the new H3 Podcast, where they debate about xQc and reaction content. / an unconfident Hasan squirms as Ethan effortlessly gets him to admit that stealing is "cool" / Ethan Klein also calls xQc a "thief bitch" and calls for a LAWSUIT" (shown below).

Ethan Klein (H3H3) Debates xQc

On August 4th, 2023, Ethan Klein^[13] posted a tweet that read, "I'd like to say publicly that @xQc is a content thief, and if you think that is defamation PLEASE sue me bitch. Destroying morons in court is my favorite hobby. And if you want me to explain why you are content thief, I'm happy to chat with you anytime." The post gathered over 12,000 likes in a day (seen below).

On August 7th, 2023, H3H3's YouTube^[14] channel streamed the debate between Ethan Klein and xQc, gathering over 500,000 views in a day (seen below, left). Also on August 7th, YouTube channel xQc Clips^[15] posted a clip of Ethan Klein leaving the debate, gathering over 27,000 views in a day (seen below, right).

On August 8th, 2023, Mutahar posted a clip to his Twitter^[16] where he can be seen watching the debate with a gun to his mouth, gathering over 13,000 likes in a day (seen below).

The debate between Klein and xQc contained a section where Klein read a message from Twitter user @_vincevantage, where he outlines the differences between xQc reacting to his content versus Hasan Piker reacting to his content. Vince says that xQc reuploads entire videos while Hasan makes an effort to send his followers to engage with his original content as well. @Vorloe^[17] uploaded a clip from Hasan's stream to Twitter on August 7th, 2023 (seen below).

@_Vincevantage^[18] posted a clip from the debate to his Twitter on August 7th, 2023, where xQc can be heard calling him a "paid actor" for his aforementioned comment differentiating Hasan and xQc (seen below).