Who is Adin Ross? Controversial streamer is friends with Andrew Tate, faked a Kim Jong Un interview

Name: Adin Ross

Birthday: 10/11/2000 (22 years old)

Best known for: Livestreaming playing video games like NBA 2K and Grand Theft Auto V, collaborating with other creators and celebrities.

Socials:  Kick | YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | X (formerly known as Twitter)

About Adin Ross:

Adin Ross started as a video game streamer on Twitch in 2019 but was permanently banned — known as a “permaban” — from the platform in February. While Twitch did not give an explicit reason for banning Ross, who had over 7 million subscribers, Ross told the Full Send podcast in July that he suspected it was because he had an open Kick chat box on his stream that included hateful speech.

After he was banned, Ross announced he would be moving over to Kick, another streaming platform and competitor to Twitch. He was one of the first major streamers signed to Kick, alongside TrainwrecksTV, and while Kick CEO Eddie Craven has addressed concerns that Ross might be a “brand risk,” Ross has essentially become the face of the platform.

He now has more than 700,000 followers on Kick and shattered Kick viewership numbers on Sept. 20 with his interview with an impersonator of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Did Adin Ross really interview Kim Jong Un?

No. Despite Ross promoting the livestream as a real interview with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, hundreds of thousands of people tuned in to watch Ross speak with a professional impersonator who goes by Howard X on Cameo. Cameo is a video-sharing platform where viewers can pay creators and celebrities to make custom, personalized videos.

At one point during the stream, Ross also invited friend and controversial public figure Andrew Tate to the conversation with Howard X.

Kim rarely gives interviews with foreign press and, in fact, shocked American journalists in 2019 by answering a few questions at a summit in Vietnam for seemingly the first time ever.

Earlier in September, Ross livestreamed a conversation with CEO Craven, who said Ross should take “a crack” at streaming from North Korea.

“I know it sounds like I’m kind of like lowkey f***ing around, but I swear to God going to North Korea and giving them a chance to show their world off, I think this could happen,” Craven said, off screen.

“I got you, bro. I won’t let you down, Eddie,” Ross replied. “I’ve decided that maybe I was born on here to solve world peace.”

What is Adin Ross’s relationship with Andrew Tate?

Tate making a guest appearance during Ross’s livestream with the fake Kim Jong Un isn’t much of a surprise to fans who have been following Ross for a while.

Tate is a professional fighter turned internet personality, known for his controversial posts on YouTube, TikTok and Twitch. (He has since been banned from all three platforms, as well as Facebook. Elon Musk reinstated his account on X, formerly known as Twitter, in November 2022).

In December 2022, he and his brother, Tristan, were arrested by Romanian authorities on charges of multiple counts of human trafficking. Tate was also charged with allegedly raping one of the victims.

The Tate brothers are facing allegations of trafficking more than a half dozen women. If convicted, under Romanian law, they could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison. Both brothers have denied all of the allegations.

In August, the brothers were released from house arrest and are under judicial control until Oct. 2, according to court documents.

Ross met Tate in July 2022 after inviting him to join a livestream after Tate’s stances on women, relationships and how to be an “alpha male” started gaining traction online. They grew to be close enough that they met up in Dubai a few months later, and Ross was even added to Tate’s visitor list when he was in Romanian jail. Ross did not end up visiting Tate.

Other Adin Ross controversies

When Ross launched his Twitch channel in 2019, it was devoted to his playing NBA 2K. He was part of a popular group of streamers that included Kai Cenat, and he befriended celebrities like Bronny James, the son of LeBron James, through playing video games. But since then, Ross’s content has pivoted.

Even before getting permabanned from Twitch, fans and fellow streamers noticed the change in Ross’s content. He was no longer streaming Grand Theft Auto V but talking about discipline, working out and celibacy as forms of self-help.

Twitch streamer Félix Lengyel, who is more commonly known as xQc, spoke about the change on a stream and attributed the change to Ross’s emulating Tate. Another popular streamer, Hasan Piker, recorded a phone call he had with Ross after Tate’s arrest and told Ross he needed “better, positive male role models.”

Ross also advocated for Twitch to ban hot tub streams, wherein creators would livestream in bathing suits and talk to viewers while in a tub.

“While we have guidelines about sexually suggestive content, being found to be sexy by others is not against our rules,” Twitch said in a statement.

Conversely, while on Kick, Ross has been accused of intentionally showing porn on his streams.

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