Featured Image Credit: @johnnysomalia / Instagram
Some YouTubers will do anything for clout, and while it often sees them make a pretty penny, there are plenty of times it backfires. From Logan Paul filming a dead body in Aokigahara Forest to Jordan Cheyenne making her son cry for likes, Disney severing ties with PewDiePie to Shane Dawson losing his Target line over his comments about Willow Smith, there are plenty of incidents where content creators take it too far.
We only saw this recently when Dumbdumbjeez was suspended from Kick over a prank involving a homeless woman, but while he only got a slap on the wrist and a few days of suspension, YouTuber Johnny Somali could actually be facing jail time over his latest stunt(s).
The 24-year-old American faces charges after he was seen kissing a statue at Seoul's Changdong History and Culture Park. The statue represents Korean women who were sexually assaulted during the country's occupation by the Japanese military during 1910 and 1945, and although he's since apologized, there are questions about the sincerity over his actions due to numerous other videos seemingly mocking Korea that still remain up.
This is just the tip of the iceberg for Johnny Somali (real name Ramsey Khalid Ismael), as Korean IRL streamer bongbong was also pursuing legal action. Somali used an artificial intelligence deepfake that showed him kissing her, then bragged about having a Korean girlfriend in a now-deleted video. There's a further twist because bongbong has deleted her own stream where she reported Johnny Somali to the Cheongwon Police Department and has reportedly decided not to post charges against him.
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It's unclear why she's decided to stop pursuing legal action, but it should be noted that the pair have streamed together and reuploaded footage shows her making several offensive remarks toward him.
Johnny Somali might not be off the hook yet, as Reuters reports that a bill passed on September 26, 2024, means those who own sexually explicit deepfakes could be hit with up to seven years in jail and face fines of $22,000. Away from the bongbong incident, Johnny Somali's faux pas with the statue has led to investigations into suspected drug use and hindering business operations and suspected drug use. After authorities have placed a travel restriction on the YouTuber to stop him fleeing the country, he could face up to 10 years in prison for the narcotics charges alone.
Johnny Somali is no stranger to controversy, and after being booted off Kick and Twitch, he's banned from visiting Jerusalem and Japan.
In one recent video, he told Korea to 'take a swing' at him, and fair to say, the country has. Johnny has been assaulted several times since arriving there.
When a clip of him referring to himself as a 'sociopath' started circulating on Reddit, the sentiments toward him were clear.
One angry viewer wrote: "Imagine defending a self admitted racist and sociopath who travels to other countries just to harass people and cause a disturbance without thinking anything is going to happen to him. 'Woah, these people are sensitive.' No, you're just dense.
Another added, "He’s not a sociopath, he’s a little b*tch. This is what society breeds when there’s no more accountability.," and a third said, "'I’m a f**king sociopath. I don’t give a f**k.'
He looked pretty upset when he was getting his ass beat."
The Johnny Somali saga continues, and while he's apologized for some of his actions, the people of Korea are unimpressed with his clout farming.
