IShowSpeed at Schoolies in Surfers Paradise causes chaos as fans flock to catch a glimpse
Forget Hollywood royalty and megastar musicians, a humble YouTube star has caused chaos on the Gold Coast as Schoolies flocked to catch a glimpse of him on the streets.
QLD News
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American YouTube star IShowSpeed has caused chaos at Schoolies celebrations on the Gold Coast.
Police were called to control crowds as hundreds of fans of the 19-year-old online sensation – who has 33 million followers and is famed for dramatic stunts including jumping over speeding sports cars – packed the streets of Surfers Paradise to see him.
Schoolies organisers claimed some fans were injured in the pandemonium and treated by emergency services but police and the Queensland Ambulance Service said they had no record of any incidents.
“The situation hit a fever pitch when IShowSpeed climbed a pole and performed a
backflip, thrilling fans both on the ground and online,” a Schoolies spokeswoman said.
“The daring stunt sent the crowd into a frenzy, with fans rushing the streets to get closer to the social media superstar.
“Police were forced to block off streets to control the overwhelming crowd, which had
grown dangerously dense.”
A police spokesman said officers attended to control crowds but there were no reported arrests.
IShowSpeed, whose real name is Darren Watkins Jr, is on a tour of Australia in NZ.
He made headlines last week when he challenged GWS Giants AFL players to a 50m race and tried to tackle NZ Warriors star Dallin Watene-Zelezniak at an NRL pre-season training session.
One Reddit user claimed IShowSpeed was arrested but police said this was not true, and officers had merely escorted him back to his hotel as part of crowd control measures.
A Gold Coast police spokesman said Cavill Ave was temporarily closed and the light-rail paused for safety reasons during the bedlam.
Originally published as IShowSpeed at Schoolies in Surfers Paradise causes chaos as fans flock to catch a glimpse
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