YouTuber Johnny Somali has been told he could face a 10-year prison sentence after he posed with a statue in South Korea.
The live streamer sparked outrage and was initially taken into custody for his own safety after he was seen kissing a statue in the Changdong History and Culture Park in Seoul, that represents Korean women who were victims of sexual assault and rape during the era of the Japanese occupation of Korea.
In his own footage, the 24-year-old Arizona native’s live stream showed him being physically assaulted by an unknown masked individual, who was later arrested.
Later videos showed Somali – real name Ramsey Khalid Ismael – in the back of a police car.
He can also be seen drinking Soju, being disrespectful to officials and antagonising Korean citizens in clips shared to social media. “Americans have way more freedom here. These n****s protecting us, we in the back of a police car. Come and get us! Come get us!” he can be seen saying.
He did later apologise. In a video shared by the YouTube channel Jcompany he spoke directly to those he had upset.
Spotted again next to the statue, he bowed to the Korean audience and said: “I want to apologise to Koreans. I didn’t understand the significance of the statue.” He further explained that his intent had been to entertain his American audience, but acknowledged that his behaviour was disrespectful. Somali also added in Korean, “I’m truly sorry.”
But now he has been warned he could face further action after yet more controversies while in the country. It has been reported he has during his time in the country displayed a drawing of the Japanese rising sun flag, a symbol widely considered offensive in the country because of Japan’s wartime aggression.
It was also reported that he has travelled on public transport singing and playing music loudly, and ignoring requests to stop. Reports further stated that he has played North Korean songs and told people to “speak English” to him when they have tried to converse with him.
As a result of the behaviour, it is claimed that Somali is now being investigated for “hindering business operations and suspected drug use”.
Authorities have placed a travel restriction on him to stop him from fleeing the country while they look into the allegations and, according to a report by Game Rant, his actions in South Korea could result in a 10-year prison sentence.
But this isn’t the first time the live streamer has angered locals with his antics. Keep reading to learn about more of his controversial moments.
Kissing comfort women statue in Seoul
Ismael has repeatedly offended South Koreans both before and during his visit to the country in October. In a now-deleted tweet from March announcing the trip, he said he planned to “slap the sh*t out of a BTS member for no reason”.
Upon arriving in the country, a live stream showed Ismael kissing and twerking on a statue representing comfort women, who were the women and girls forced to become military sex slaves by Japanese armed forces during World War II. His actions have had consequences, though. In a later stream after the incident, a passerby can be seen punching Somali in the face before grabbing his phone and throwing it into the distance.
One of Ismael’s signature shock tactics in his videos is causing public disturbances. Other videos from his trip show him playing loud, explicit sounds on public transport and getting kicked off a bus for playing North Korean music loudly.
Shouting ‘Fukushima’ at construction site workers in Osaka
South Korea isn’t the only country where the live streamer has made racially insensitive comments and upset locals. During a trip to Japan last summer, a masked Ismael and another man entered the construction site of a hotel in Osaka and filmed themselves shouting “Fukushima” – referencing the 2011 nuclear power plant disaster – at workers.
Ismael was arrested, released and then arrested again a month later for disrupting a restaurant with loud noises on his phone. Although the charges of trespassing on the construction site were dropped, the court found him guilty of obstructing a business and fined him ¥200,000 (around £1,000) before kicking him out of the country.
Atomic bomb comments in Japan
This wasn’t his only scandal during his Japan visit. His streams in the country often depicted him taunting locals in public by repeating phrases like Hiroshima and Nagasaki at them and loudly threatening to bomb the country (resulting in him being physically assaulted on the street, again).
During a visit to Tokyo Disney Resort in June 2023, Ismael recorded visitors’ reactions (without obtaining their consent) as he played offensive music referencing atomic bombs via a speaker.
Western Wall images
Ismael’s offensiveness isn’t confined only to Asian countries. This year he received a 50-day ban from Jerusalem after pinning printed photographs of Harvey Weinstein, Jeffrey Epstein and Jewish streamer Adin Ross to the Western Wall, a Jewish shrine. He was banned from streaming platform Kick earlier in his trip for “promoting violent behaviour” including death threats during his live streams.
Harassing a female police officer in Tel Aviv
Adding to the growing list of his arrests, Ismael was apprehended yet again in April for sexually harassing a female police officer at an anti-government protest in Tel Aviv. A video shows him making lewd and offensive comments to the officer, calling her a “b*tch” and telling her he’ll “slap that ass”. “I’ll grab it too. Donald Trump told me to grab it by the p*ssy. I’ll grab that too,” he said.
Ismael has been permanently banned from streaming platform Twitch, but has moved on to streaming other platforms including Rumble and Kick. The latter, however, has placed him under temporary bans several times due to his offensive behaviour.
