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Destiny
Bonnell in 2022
Personal information
Born
Steven Kenneth Bonnell II

(1988-12-12) December 12, 1988 (age 36)[1]
Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Occupations
  • Political and social commentator
  • streamer
Spouse
Melina Göransson
​
​
(m. 2021; div. 2023)​
[2]
Children1
Websitedestiny.gg Edit this at Wikidata
YouTube information
Channels
Years active2013–present
Genres
Subscribers
  • 852 thousand (Destiny)
  • 182 thousand (Last Night on Destiny)
  • 86.9 thousand (Destiny Clips)
Total views
  • 569,700,756 (Destiny)
  • 104,816,274 (Last Night on Destiny)
  • 55,647,651 (Destiny Clips)
Associated acts
100,000 subscribers2018
Twitch information
Channel
Years active2011–2022
GenrePolitics/Gaming
Followers699,700 (before his indefinite suspension)
TikTok information
Followers196.2 thousand
(August 4, 2024)
Likes7.8 million
(August 4, 2024)
Instagram information
Page
Followers100 thousand
(August 4, 2024)
Last updated: August 4, 2024

Steven Kenneth Bonnell II (born December 12, 1988), known online as Destiny, is an American live streamer and political commentator. He was among the first people to stream video games online full-time.[5] Since 2016, he has streamed political debates with other online personalities, in which he advocates for liberal and social democratic politics.[6][7][8]

Early life

Steven Kenneth Bonnell II was born in Omaha, Nebraska.[6] He was raised in a conservative Catholic home,[6] and he attended Creighton Preparatory School, a private Jesuit high school for boys.[7] When he was a pre-teen, his mother's home day care business collapsed, and his family's home was foreclosed.[7] A few years later his parents moved to take care of an aging relative, after which he lived with his grandmother until he was 18. During his childhood, Bonnell played Japanese role-playing games, which he says made him an adept reader.[6]

In 2007, Bonnell enrolled at the University of Nebraska Omaha, where he studied music while working as a restaurant manager at a casino, mostly at night. Struggling to juggle both his education and full-time work, Bonnell dropped out of college in 2010. Within a year, he was fired from his job, which he attributes to his difficulty navigating workplace politics and understanding others' emotional experiences.[6]

Bonnell later found work as a carpet cleaner, working 12-hour days for commission. His average pay was $3–4 an hour (equivalent to $4.2–5.6 an hour in 2023).[6][7]

Career

Bonnell (center) at the HomeStory Cup, a tournament for the video game franchise Starcraft, in November 2014.

Gaming streaming (2011)

In 2011, Bonnell quit his job as a carpet cleaner to stream video games full-time. Streaming his Starcraft II matches on livestream.com and ustream.tv,[9] then Justin.tv (now Twitch), he was immediately financially successful.[5][7][10] In October of that year, Bonnell joined professional team Quantic Gaming and placed 4th in the 2011 MLG Global North American invitational.[11] During his years as a Starcraft II streamer, Bonnell was known for his abrasive and confrontational style, including use of "acerbic and often offensive" comments against other players for shock humor.[5]

Twitch debates (2016-2022)

Bonnell's logo wordmark

Starting in 2016, Bonnell live-streamed political debates with other internet personalities. Bonnell debated YouTuber Jon Jafari, better known as JonTron, on immigration and assimilation in March 2017, after Jafari tweeted in support of anti-immigration statements by Republican congressman Steve King. In his debate with Bonnell, Jafari's statements concerning race, crime, and immigration were seen as controversial by viewers, and the subsequent backlash garnered media attention.[12][13][14][15]

Bonnell received a 30-day suspension from Twitch in summer 2018 for using the word faggot.[16] In November 2018, Bonnell and fellow streamer Trihex (Mychal Ramon Jefferson) premiered a political commentary collaboration, The DT Podcast. The podcast streamed its final episode in October 2019, during which Jefferson confronted Bonnell regarding statements the latter had made defending his use of offensive humor—including racial slurs—in private.[7][17] Fellow Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who had previously reached out to "to form an allegiance", distanced himself from Bonnell in-part because the controversy.[7]

Bonnell was indefinitely banned from Twitch due to "hateful conduct" in March 2022.[18][19][20] Dot Esports speculates that this may have been due to Bonnell streaming with white nationalist Nick Fuentes, who had previously been banned from the platform, while Bonnell speculated it was due to him expressing the view that "trans women shouldn't compete with cis women in women's athletics".[18][19][21] In October 2024, Bonnell alleged that the reason behind his ban on the platform was for his characterization of online transgender activists as being "inbred".[22]

Post-Twitch career (2022-present)

Bonnell on a live-stream in 2022

Bonnell interviewed U.S. Representative Ro Khanna, alongside other political streamers such as Vaush, Emma Vigeland (co-host of The Majority Report), and Keffals, about various topics in September 2023, including the importance of youth political participation and ways to push progressive political sentiment, as well as asking questions about Khanna.[23][24][25] In March 2024, he appeared on the Lex Fridman Podcast in a debate with activist Norman Finkelstein, historian Benny Morris, and political analyst Mouin Rabbani regarding the history of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and the ongoing Israel–Hamas war.[26]

In late 2024, members of Bonnell's Reddit and Discord communities began participating in an online campaign against Twitch, pressuring Twitch advertisers under the allegation that the website was promoting antisemitic content. Some activists of the campaign were led by Dan Saltman, an online commentator and Bonnell's podcast co-host, who has launched multiple gripe sites that targeted Twitch's CEO Dan Clancy and Amazon vice-president Steve Boom. Saltman stated that "The goal of our campaign is simple: The CEO, Dan Clancy stepping down."[20] Bonnell has stated that his personal involvement in the campaign has been minimal. According to Bloomberg writer Cecilia D'Anastasio, both Bonnell's and Saltman's fans harassed multiple Twitch employees, including members of the company's trust and safety department.[27] Critics of the campaign also accused Bonnell and Saltman of harassing female journalists.[20] Saltman was ultimately banned from Twitch in November due to the stated reason of "extreme harassment". In response, Saltman stated that "allegations of harassment are often made by people who have been exposed for their bigotry, sexism and hatred".[27]

Political positions

This article is part of a series on
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See also

Bonnell identified as a libertarian, anti-SJW "with right-of-center social beliefs" until 2012, when his political outlook began shifting toward social liberalism after an incident in which he heard another streamer use a homophobic slur.[6][7] Bonnell has argued against certain aspects of both far-right politics and far-left politics.[6][7] Furthermore, he has promoted the idea that college campuses should have students who have diverse opinions in order to reduce polarization.[28]

In 2019, Bonnell began publicly debating in favor of capitalism against socialists and communists.[6] Bonnell has stated that his intention is not to persuade their opponents but to persuade the audience; although he has expressed that airing his opinions often feels "like screaming into the void", he estimates he has received hundreds of emails from former members of the alt-right crediting him for their conversion to left-wing politics.[6][7] Subsequent journalistic and academic coverage of right-wing YouTube commentary has credited Bonnell as an early and effective opposition to it, particularly owing to his provocative, combative debate style which appeals to right-wing gaming audiences.[3][6]

Political violence

Bonnell was notified in September 2020 that his Twitch partnership agreement would be terminated the following month for "encouragement of violence". The termination came as a result of comments made on-stream after the Kenosha unrest shooting, in which Bonnell expressed opposition to riots at the George Floyd protests.[29] Bonnell said:[30][31]

"The rioting needs to fucking stop, and if that means like white redneck fucking militia dudes out there mowing down dipshit protesters that think that they can torch buildings at ten p.m., then at this point they have my fucking blessing, because holy shit, this fucking shit needs to stop, it needed to stop a long time ago."[31]

Bonnell later said that Kyle Rittenhouse was clearly misguided but that his frustration was with rioters who Bonnell believed would scare people into voting for Donald Trump again.[32]

After the first 2024 assassination attempt of Donald Trump, which killed one Trump rally attendee and injured two others,[33] Bonnell stated that Trump and his supporters "reap what they sow, and I'm here to watch the harvest". The Economist cited Bonnell as an example of an "angry progressive" who "lamented" that the attempt had failed.[34]

Israeli–Palestinian conflict

Following the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, Bonnell expressed sympathy for Israel, stating, "The Palestinians are oppressed by all the Arab countries, and no country from them, which is supposed to be on 'their' side, has bothered to offer them a real solution—and yet, their anger is directed fully at Israel, and unjustifiably in my opinion."[35] In a debate with Nathan J. Robinson, Bonnell argued against the Palestinian right of return, believing it would make peace and a two-state solution impossible. Robinson responded by arguing that Arab leaders (Yasser Arafat and the Arab Peace Initiative) had shown a willingness to compromise on the right of return.[36]

In March 2024, he appeared on the Lex Fridman Podcast in a debate with Norman Finkelstein, historian Benny Morris, and political analyst Mouin Rabbani regarding the Israeli–Hamas conflict.[26] In multiple videos on his YouTube channel, Bonnell has criticized streamer Hasan Piker, including for Piker's criticism of Israel.[27]

Economics

In a conversation about immigration with the YouTuber Carl Benjamin, popularly known by the pseudonym Sargon of Akkad, Bonnell expressed his general view that, because immigration lowers the cost of labor for companies hiring low-wage earners, it is good to have high levels of immigration. Furthermore, in order to fix the wealth disparity caused by both the lowered wages of low-wage earners and the heightened wages of high-wage earners, Bonnell proposed raising taxes on the wealthy and distributing their earnings to the poor.[37]

In 2021, Bonnell debated Marxian economist Richard D. Wolff, with Bonnell defending capitalism. In that debate, Bonnell described the label of "socialism" as poorly defined, and noted a history of famine and abuses in countries like the Soviet Union and China, while Wolff responded by attempting to correct perceived misrepresentations from Bonnell of his views on socialism throughout the debate.[8] Bonnell has cited his poverty during his teenage and college-aged years as an influence on his views, and says that he prefers to argue based on empirical data rather than moral suasion.[7]

Canvassing

In 2020, Bonnell supported the general election campaign of Joe Biden.[38] Following Biden's victory, Bonnell led a canvassing campaign in support of Democratic candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock in the 2020–21 Georgia Senate runoffs.[39] With the help of approximately 140 volunteers mobilized from Bonnell's online audience, the campaign knocked on an estimated 17,500–20,000 doors in Columbus, Georgia, making it one of the larger campaigns of the election.[40] Bonnell led another canvassing operation in support of Mark Gudgel for the 2021 Omaha mayoral election.[41] On March 3, 2021, Gudgel officially cut ties with Bonnell over the latter's statements regarding riots at the George Floyd protests.[31][42]

In February 2024, Bonnell spearheaded canvassing efforts by political activist group Progressive Victory in Cincinnati, Ohio, to support Sherrod Brown in the Ohio US senate race.[43][44]

Personal life

Bonnell lived in Nebraska before relocating to the Los Angeles area in December 2018.[7][6] In late 2021, he moved to Miami, Florida.[45]

Bonnell has been married twice and has a son.[46] He is openly bisexual,[47] and his second marriage was an open marriage with Swedish streamer Melina Göransson.[7][48][49] Bonnell and Göransson married in December 2021.[50] They separated and filed for divorce in December 2023.[51]

References

  1. ^ "The Omni Liberal". Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  2. ^ Bonnell, Steven (January 22, 2024). "Yemen History | Kick or Keep tonight @ 6 EST". YouTube. 1:44:50. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Roose, Kevin (June 8, 2019). "The Making of a YouTube Radical". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 22, 2021. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  4. ^ Gonzalez, Oscar (June 29, 2022). "Meet the Twitch, YouTube Streamers Who Deradicalize While They Debate". CNET. Archived from the original on July 1, 2022. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c McCormick, Rich (August 26, 2014). "This is why people want to watch other people play video games". The Verge. Archived from the original on June 28, 2020. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Quirk, Trevor (January 15, 2020). "Can This Notorious Troll Turn People Away From Extremism?". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Archived from the original on June 28, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Breland, Ali (April 1, 2020). "Steve Bonnell Made Big Bucks Following a Simple Plan: Play Video Games. Troll Your Fans. Fight the Online Right". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on June 30, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  8. ^ a b Gault, Matthew (April 23, 2021). "Twitch Streamer Destiny and an Economist Debate Capitalism, Achieve Nothing". Vice. Archived from the original on August 14, 2022. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
  9. ^ No Jumper (September 2, 2022). The Destiny Interview: Relationships, Trans Rights, Trump, Keffals & More (Video). Event occurs at 13:40. Archived from the original on September 4, 2022. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  10. ^ "Inside the new world of 24/7 on-demand videogame TV". Edge. July 1, 2013. Archived from the original on July 7, 2013. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  11. ^ "Steven "Destiny" Bonnell joins Quantic Gaming". www.gamasutra.com. Archived from the original on June 28, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  12. ^ "Popular YouTuber JonTron Has Some Batshit Crazy Thoughts on Immigration He'd Like to Share [Update]". Gizmodo. March 13, 2017. Archived from the original on March 13, 2017. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  13. ^ Gajanan, Mahita (March 14, 2017). "YouTube Star JonTron Under Fire for Comments on Race and Immigration". Time. Archived from the original on September 3, 2019. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  14. ^ Jackson, Gita (March 17, 2017). "Longtime Fans Of YouTuber JonTron Say They Can't Watch Him Anymore". Kotaku. Archived from the original on October 3, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  15. ^ "A Brief Breakdown of the JonTron Racism Controversy". Game Rant. March 21, 2017. Archived from the original on August 29, 2017. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  16. ^ Musil, Steven (July 3, 2018). "Twitch suspends popular streamers after use of homophobic language". CNET. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  17. ^ Viana, Bhernardo (October 24, 2019). "Trihex and Destiny end their podcast over use of the n-word". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  18. ^ a b Polhamus, Blaine (March 23, 2022). "Political streamer Destiny banned from Twitch". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on March 24, 2022. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
  19. ^ a b Litchfield, Ted (March 27, 2022). "Politics streamer Destiny receives indefinite ban from Twitch". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on March 28, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  20. ^ a b c Maruf, Ramishah (December 5, 2024). "Streaming site Twitch is embroiled in controversy over creators' content about its handling of Israel and Palestine | CNN Business". CNN. Archived from the original on December 6, 2024. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  21. ^ Gach, Ethan (July 21, 2022). "Trans Streamer Keffals Says Twitch Banned Her For 'Openly Talking' About Abuse She Receives". Kotaku. Archived from the original on July 21, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  22. ^ "Streamer Destiny reveals clip that caused his permanent Twitch ban". Dexerto. October 28, 2024. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  23. ^ Gutelle, Sam (September 29, 2023). "U.S. rep Ro Khanna streamed with creators like Vaush and Emma Vigeland outside the White House". Congressman Ro Khanna. Archived from the original on October 3, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  24. ^ Lorenz, Taylor (September 28, 2023). "Democrats plan four-hour live stream with Twitch and YouTube stars". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 29, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  25. ^ "Interviewing Congressman Ro Khanna w/ Emma Vigeland". Youtube. October 2, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  26. ^ a b "Israel-Palestine Debate: Finkelstein, Destiny, M. Rabbani & Benny Morris". Lex Fridman Podcast (Podcast). March 14, 2024. Archived from the original on March 15, 2024. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  27. ^ a b c D'Anastasio, Cecilia (December 4, 2024). "JPMorgan, AT&T Pull Twitch Ads After Antisemitism Allegations". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2024. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
  28. ^ "Ben Shapiro vs Destiny Debate: Politics, Jan 6, Israel, Ukraine & Wokeism Lex Fridman Podcast #410". YouTube. January 23, 2024. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  29. ^ "Twitch Legal Department Unpartners Destiny After 'Encouragement of Violence'". Game Rant. September 12, 2020. Archived from the original on September 13, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  30. ^ Richman, Olivia (September 12, 2020). "Destiny loses Twitch partnership for 'encouraging violence'". WIN.gg. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  31. ^ a b c Bowling, Chris (March 5, 2021). "After Cutting Ties with Controversial Streamer, Gudgel Staying in Mayoral Race". The Reader. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  32. ^ Bonell, Steven. "Kyle Rittenhouse ("mowing down protestors")". My Position. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  33. ^ Anderson, Meg (July 14, 2024). "The man killed in the assassination attempt on Trump died shielding his family". NPR. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  34. ^ "The attack on Donald Trump unleashes a flood of misinformation". The Economist. July 15, 2024. Some angry progressives are lamenting that the bullet grazed Mr Trump's ear, missing his skull by millimetres. Destiny, a leftist social-media commentator, told his 250,000 X followers that Mr Trump and his supporters will "reap what they sow, and I'm here to watch the harvest".
  35. ^ Lieberman-Fleshaks, Noa (November 22, 2023). 'רוב האנשים לא טורחים לקרוא או לחשוב לעומק': ישראל מגלה תומכים מפתיעים ברשת ['Most people don't bother to read or think deeply': Israel discovers surprising supporters online]. TheMarker (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on February 2, 2024. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
  36. ^ Burgis, Ben (March 31, 2024). "Palestinians' Right of Return Is a Basic Question of Justice". Jacobin. Retrieved August 22, 2024.
  37. ^ Talking Immigration and Economics with Destiny. Sargon of Akkad Live. Retrieved July 31, 2024 – via YouTube.
  38. ^ "Voting For / Against Biden – Debate w/ Kim Iversen". YouTube. August 9, 2020. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  39. ^ Gray, Sakura (December 21, 2020). "MATH MVMT hosts canvassing event ahead of Georgia Senate runoffs". WRBL. Archived from the original on December 21, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  40. ^ Citarella, Joshua (April 24, 2021). "Are we ready for social media influencers shaping politics?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on April 24, 2021. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  41. ^ Johnson, Anton (February 17, 2021). "How one creator is using streaming service Twitch to shape an Omaha mayoral candidate's 'Destiny'". The Gateway. Archived from the original on February 17, 2021. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  42. ^ Ristau, Reece (March 13, 2021). "Omaha mayoral candidate cuts ties with internet personality over protest comments". Omaha World-Herald. Archived from the original on March 16, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  43. ^ Testa, Jessica; Bensinger, Ken; Tan, Eli (October 1, 2024). "Not Just Fun and Games: Politics Edges Deeper Into Livestreams". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 1, 2024. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  44. ^ Burd, Aaron (February 9, 2024). "Why a high-profile YouTuber and stream team is coming to Ohio". Archived from the original on February 10, 2024. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  45. ^ "BLM Organizer Confronts Destiny On Jacob Blake And Defund The Police... – YouTube". December 20, 2021. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2022 – via YouTube.
  46. ^ Kochinski, Ian; Vigeland, Emma; Bonnell, Steven; Grim, Ryan; Khanna, Ro (September 29, 2023). DC INTERVIEW W/ EMMA VIGELAND, RYAN GRIM & DESTINY (Video). Roughly 55 minutes in. Archived from the original on September 29, 2023. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  47. ^ No Jumper (June 27, 2023). Crip Mac & Destiny on Destiny Being Bi, Andrew Tate, The Color Blue & More. Retrieved November 19, 2024 – via YouTube.
  48. ^ "Open Relationships, Intense Officer Confrontation & Dealing w/ the Police – LNOD". www.youtube.com. July 29, 2019. Archived from the original on January 2, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  49. ^ "Personal". destiny.gg. Archived from the original on March 2, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021. Melina and I are currently in an open/poly relationship. We treat each other as primary partners, though we may pursue other sexual/romantic relationships as well.
  50. ^ Göransson, Melina. "I am married!". Twitter. Archived from the original on December 27, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  51. ^ Bonnell, Steven (December 12, 2023), "Destiny Reveals The Flaws That Ended His Marriage", Last Night On Destiny, retrieved January 4, 2024
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