‘Part comedian, part troll’: 16-year-old streamer everyone is talking about
He’s a notorious online figure with 1.2 million followers and a string of viral moments to his name – but Matan Even isn’t even old enough to vote.
Teenagers, we’re constantly told, are lazy, undisciplined individuals, interested in little more than sleeping in late and scrolling mindlessly on social media.
However, this is a broad, crude generalisation. Not all teenagers are created equally. Take Matan Even, for example, a 16-year-old streamer and TikTok sensation who has made quite a name for himself.
How best to describe Even? Part comedian, part troll and part social commentator, Even is not your average teen.
Known as the “Bill Clinton Kid” online, Even made headlines in December after crashing the Game Awards ceremony and taking to the mic to give a shout out to “reformed Orthodox rabbi Bill Clinton”.
Although Even was reportedly arrested, his message about the 42nd president of the United States went viral. And since then, he has gone on to orchestrate more pranks and build his reputation.
With 1.2 million followers on TikTok, over the past year, his videos have racked up hundreds of millions of views.
Although 2023 has been the year Even’s name has gone mainstream, the teenager has been around for quite a while. Back in 2019, he appeared on InfoWars, a controversial news site owned by Alex Jones.
Bill Clinton kid is everywhere 😂 pic.twitter.com/8rOopVE46L
— Rap Updates Tv (@RapUpdatesTv) March 28, 2023
A 12-year-old Even spoke passionately about the protests that were taking place in Hong Kong at the time. Not long after, he went viral after appearing at a LA Clippers home game holding a “Fight for freedom. Stand with Hong Kong” T-shirt aloft.
Not surprisingly, as the NBA is intimately associated with the Chinese market, the camera quickly panned away from the dramatic display.
Another viral moment came when JaVale McGee, a Dallas Mavericks basketball player, uploaded a video accusing Even of hassling him needlessly. Even swears the basketballer was in on the prank.
In April this year, Matan, forever dressed in black, could be seen standing in the front row of WrestleMania 39. As always, he looked thoroughly disinterested in what was occurring before his eyes.
A month later, he faced off against Derek Chisora, a British professional boxer who weighs close to 118kg. Clearly a joke, Chisora laughed off Even’s promise to “knock him out”.
When he isn’t sizing up professional boxers, Even can be found criticising OnlyFans, and the fact that more and more women (and some men) are turning to the controversial platform to make money.
He recently debated an OnlyFans manager and a group of models, asking why they glorify a platform that spreads questionable content. They struggled to provide Even with answers, and he proceeded to ridicule them mercilessly.
Ever the joker, Even told me that he was originally born in Los Angeles, but grew up on his own. This, he said, “helped harden my brain from day one”.
“When it comes to my family,” he added, “my brothers are dead to me, my mother is dead to me, and my father is dead to me. The only one watching my back was my little green bird from Brazil, his species is going extinct though. He’s a white Ear Conure”.
Although Even is wildly popular on social media, not everyone is a fan of the precocious prankster.
A cross between Borat and Timothée Chalamet, Even told me that he has beef with Hasan Piker, a 32-year-old left-wing political commentator.
“That sh*t goes back to 2010,” said Even.
Considering Even was barely out of nappies in 2010, it’s safe to say that his “beef” with Mr Piker does not stretch back more than a decade.
When asked if he enjoys living in LA, a crime-ridden place that has witnessed a mass exodus in recent times, Even replied with an emphatic “no”.
At this time, however, he has no plans to relocate elsewhere. Even recently spoke about his love of helping the city’s growing homeless population. Although, on closer inspection, this, like almost everything he says, seems to have been a joke.
I asked Even what, if anything, makes him tick.
“I think one of the things that makes me tick is holding myself accountable and to certain expectations,” he said, adding this gnawing feeling stems from his time as a kid, “where I grew up homeless”.
As for future projects, the enfant terrible says that he has “got some serious stuff coming up, I’m currently filming my own show, which is taking up most of my time these days, and that’ll be released soon”.
“When it comes to the very near future,” he said, “me and my mentor Fiddy got an album on the way.”
For the uninitiated, by Fiddy he means 50 Cent. Yes, the rapper 50 Cent. And no, Even’s not serious.
Jokes aside, though, for such a young man, Even is incredibly talented. Very few, if any, 16-year-olds are such accomplished comedians and social commentators.
Peel back the veneer, and you find an intelligent young man, a cerebral troll who has the world in his hands.
Expect Even’s star to continue to rise – but don’t hold your breath for that rather odd collab with “Fiddy”.
John Mac Ghlionn is a freelance writer.
Originally published as ‘Part comedian, part troll’: 16-year-old streamer everyone is talking about
