On Saturday morning, influencer Jack Doherty live-streamed himself on Kick crashing his $200,000+ McLaren on the highway. In a clip of the incident that’s gone viral, the 20-year-old glances down at his phone before spinning out on a rainy road and crashing into a guardrail. In the aftermath, Doherty asks his brother Michael, who has blood dripping down from his forehead, to continue filming and make sure that he “films on that phone too.”
After the crash, on a call with fellow streamer Ac7ion Man, Doherty claims that Kick permanently banned him. Now, Doherty’s channel on the platform just redirects to a 404 page. However, it’s unclear what rule the streamer broke. (Doherty and Kick did not respond to a request for comment via email.)
On X, Doherty released a statement, which said that he was sorry to Michael. Doherty added, “This could’ve been so much worse, and it’s a huge learning lesson.”
The incident has gone mainstream viral, with the largest news outlets and internet denizens calling out Doherty’s reckless behavior. Gaming creator FaZe Rug called Doherty a “terrible human being,” and dramatuber penguinz0 said Doherty is a “content ghoul.”
But if you’ve followed Doherty’s rise on social media since 2017, none of this should surprise you. At 13 years old, he started posting online, gaining his first viral video from flipping random objects around his home.
Doherty quickly pivoted to acting outlandish for clicks in public, getting kicked out of Walmart for jumping on the aisles and hijacking the store’s intercom. Teenage chaos, which included trolling Ninja for content and skipping school, rewarded Doherty with millions of views and a growing channel.
As he aged, Doherty’s content stayed the same and still targeted a young, edgy audience. Whether it was getting kicked out of college lectures or rating his girlfriend’s bikinis, he was rewarded with growth. Soon, he hit over 14 million YouTube subscribers.
Doherty also made the move over to live streaming, joining Kick in early 2023. He immediately started causing controversy, getting suspended from the platform at least three times for doxxing, slapping, and flashing nudity on camera.
Doherty is also embroiled in multiple lawsuits as a result of his controversial behavior. At a Halloween party in 2023, one of his bodyguards punched a partygoer who was arguing with the streamer. In February 2024, Doherty and the bodyguard were served with a lawsuit seeking damages for the alleged assault and battery.
In September 2024, Doherty was also sued by State Farm. The insurance company alleges that the creator tried to use his renter’s insurance policy to cover up any damages he might owe. Both cases are still ongoing.
The car crash might get the mainstream headlines, but controversy is Doherty’s whole business model. Like other controversial members of the streamer sphere, such as Adin Ross and Neon, Doherty’s whole goal is to churn out clicks. Ross even said while watching the car crash clip that all Doherty needs to do is “pay $300,000 to get unbanned on Kick.”
Like many streamers who thrive on hate, giving Doherty any oxygen only makes his brand stronger (which I know is a bit ironic from an article talking about his controversies.) But Doherty is a symptom of rubbernecking and the human urge not to look away when a car crashes — and one little ban isn’t going to drive him out of content creation.
Further reading:
- Adin Ross Is the New Defacto King of Teenage Edgelords
- Several PR Disasters Later, Kick Has Turned To AI
- Kick Says ‘We Will Make Mistakes’ in Response to Weekend of Controversy
- Controversial Creator Adin Ross Breaks Kick Record With Donald Trump Stream
- Kick’s Creator Incentive Program Is More Confusing Than You’d Expect
