A TikToker gets harassed and, when de-escalation fails, beats the harasser up live on stream.
Livestreamers love it when something crazy happens on their stream. It generates views, just like this instance. A man walking the streets continues to bother this livestreamer until he has enough and beats the man up as the views multiply.
"I Really Feel Like It Was You Bro"
Daniel, known online as TheHeatwaveGym, is an influencer predominantly active on TikTok where he posts mostly "pull up" and "hanging" challenges. In his videos, he usually stands outside with his (honestly kind of flimsy) pull up bar and challenges people to try hanging for 140 seconds, sometimes betting them money on it.
@theheatwavegym HANG 140 seconds WIN $140 #hangingchallenge #pullupchallenge #fyp #fitness #gym
original sound - TheHeatwaveGym
He currently has 57k followers on TikTok, sells merch, personal trainings and coachings on his website and often broadcasts his challenges live.
And so he was out on the streets on April 15 with his camera and his pull up bar challenging people to hang, when a seemingly intoxicated man shows up.
The man starts repeatedly going up to Daniel shouting at him and even following close when Daniel tries to back up. The man accuses the TikToker of punching him in the face but multiple people, including Daniel himself, deny this. Daniel tries to calm the man down while he just shouts in the backround. The streamer tells his chat:
See, I'm not escelating, I'm not gonna rock his [stuff]. I will have to [effing] punch him, I will have to, but I'm choosing not to.
He then tells the other people around to not get involved when the man "chooses to conflict" with him. His chat encourages him to beat the man up.
See, I'm really trying to de-escalate, I'm trying to walk away from him.
The TikToker claims while emptying his pockets in preparation.
Brother, I know I can legally hit him but morally and ethically I do not choose violence.
But he also affirms that if the man would punch him he "would have to take him down."
The man starts shouting even louder off camera. Then he comes over to Daniel again shouting "I really feel like it was you, bro" over and over again, putting his hand in Daniel's face and starting to touch his arms.
Daniel seems to take this as an attack and violently pushes the man out of frame. You can then only hear the scuffle and punches. After a few seconds, Daniel throws the man back into frame and continues punching and dragging him while the man is on the floor covering his face. Finally, other people get in on the fight and Daniel lets the man go, telling him to stay down.
In these seconds Daniel's viewcount gets skyrocketed fom 9k to over 12k.
The man stands up complaining that Daniel had pulled his hair. Finally the man leaves. Daniel seems to be winded but fine and also kind of proud of himself.
@unknownkrt #theheatwavegym #fight #viral #foryoupage #fyp
original sound - unknownkrt
His chat cheers him on and celebrate the influencer's win. People on Reddit also seem to be in favor of Daniel, saying the man deserved it for "getting in his face" and continuously coming up to him. And although the man did seem annoying and a little agressive, he was not the first one to hit. Proportionality is the key. Beating someone up just for annoying you and touching you might be a little too much.
One should of course defend oneself if it escalates and Daniel did try to de-escalate multiple times but beating someone up like that and especially continuing while the man was already on the ground does not seem like the best solution or best proportioned defense either. At last it looks like Daniel does "morally and ethically" choose violence preparing for and then actually starting the fight. Luckily, it seems like no one got seriously hurt.
