Popular Twitch streamer Kai Cenat came to the defense of fellow star Sketch after images of him appearing in gay porn on OnlyFans were leaked online.
Sketch, whose real name is Kylie Cox, is popular in gaming circles after amassing over 1.1 million followers for his videos centering on the Madden series.
Leaked pornographic images of the 25-year-old emerged on July 8 prompting speculation he had an OnlyFans career before his livestreams took off. The clips also outed Sketch, who hadn’t previously disclosed his sexuality to fans.
Cenat has now waded into the uproar, urging streaming fans to show more empathy to his fellow creator.
He said: ‘You would think that [Sketch] murdered somebody. You would think this n**ga murdered somebody by the way n**gas is talking.’
‘I’m not in no space to judge anybody for what they do or what they have done,’ he added. ‘It doesn’t bother me, I don’t care.’
It comes after high-profile figures appeared to backpedal on their mockery of Sketch after the images leaked.
Antonio Brown, a former NFL player, is among those to back off since calling the streamer the ‘f’ slur online.
‘My page comedy & entertainment,’ Brown said. ‘But I wanted to make sure I let you know I spoke with @thesketchreal this morning. Jokes are jokes but making sure his mental health good. Never know what people got goin on or are goin through.’
Sketch released a video admitting the images and videos were of him, revealing the torment the reactions online had caused him.
‘Two years ago, I did some stuff,’ Sketch said. ‘I’m sorry if you’ve seen some of the stuff, you know I’m a changed person.’
He added the video was going ‘worse than I thought it was’ before making a joking reference to the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal.
Sketch walked away from the camera briefly and exclaimed: ‘Cat’s outta’ the bag!’
The streamer then thanked all of the people that have been ‘sticking up’ for him, including his parents, friends and fellow streamers like FaZe Banks.
‘I understand if you’re mad. S**t hit the fan. I was dealing with some addiction problems, a couple of them,’ he said.
Sketch alluded to potentially suicidal thoughts, saying that if he was alone when this had happened, ‘I probably wouldn’t be talking to you right now.’
‘The people like FaZe Banks, especially, and the friends that I’ve made over the past years came and saved me. I don’t know what I was gonna do.
‘F**k it, we start streaming more often! Or quit, I don’t know, one of the two,’ before jokingly asking what Kim Kardashian did after her sex tape scandal.
Banks posted a screenshot of a conversation he’d had with Sketch in the wake of the leaks and sent his support.
‘Not everything needs to be broadcast & farmed, but since ya’ll wana jump to crazy assumptions Sketch told me to post these receipts,’ he wrote.
‘All the FaZe boys were with him last night. Sketch was my homie yesterday, he’s my homie today, he’ll be my homie tomorrow. You guys are fkn weirdos.’
One person did wonder on X: ‘What kind of addiction makes u do those videos,’ while others posted GIFs showing their lack of comfort with the situation.
However, Sketch’s community was overwhelmingly supportive and included at least one of his NFL heroes.
New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner wrote: ‘Sketch handled the situation better than a lot of people would’ve. The same ones that loved him before all of this will love him after and if they don’t then they didn’t really love him to begin with. People go through tough times and it promotes growth. I stand with him.’
Jynxzi, a frequent gaming collaborator of Sketch, made an emotional video saying ‘a friend is a friend, no matter what’ and confirming he was with Sketch.
Popular Barstool host Big Cat also sent his support.
‘Yeah my comment is Sketch is awesome and I hope he knows the majority of people, myself included, have his back.’
Author and businessman Mike Majlak posted a photo of himself with Sketch and also spoke positively about the 25-year-old.
‘[M]et sketch a couple months back and have had the blessing of hanging with him a good amount since then. he has an incredible heart, positive energy, and love for life. I consider him a friend and I hope he continues to be the sweet soul that we all know and love.’
The gamer is famous for streaming live sessions on ‘Madden’ and his catchphrases ‘what’s up brother’ and ‘special teams, special plays, special players.’
Famous for also playing ‘Madden NFL’ on Twitch, Sketch is often seen gaming with fellow streamer Jynxzi, who’s known for his podcast where he interviews other streamers on the platform.
Another catch phrase that Sketch has come up with in his TikTok videos is ‘Tuesday, Tuesday.’
Along with ‘what’s up brother’ and ‘special teams, special plays, special players,’ the catch phrase has been remixed into newer trends that have overtaken TikTok.