In September, popular creator iShowSpeed live stream his encounter with the laika humanoid influence Rizzbot.
Rizzbot has more than a million followers (and 800 million views) on social media and is known for his comedic brouhaha, as well as giving people the middle finger. Speed, meanwhile, has more than 50 million followers (and 6 billion views) on various platforms and is known for its dramatic behavior during live streaming.
What happened when the two parties met is the subject of a lawsuit that Rizzbot’s creators, Social Robotics, laid out in a petition they filed in November against Speed, Darren Jason Watkins Jr., his management company, Mixed Management, and another producer who was with Speed’s crew that day. The report, obtained by TechCrunch, claims that Speed caused “irreparable damage” to Rizzbot.
The suit alleged that — and the live video stream shows that — Speed repeatedly punched Rizzbot in the face, put him in a choke hold, at one point pinned him to the couch and threw him to the ground.
“Speed was fully aware that this was not an appropriate way to interact with a sophisticated robot and knew that such actions cause irreparable damage to Rizzbot,” the report said. “These actions resulted in the total loss of Rizzbot.”
The report stated that Speed’s handling of the robot caused a “complete loss of functionality” and that the Rizzbot had “significant damage” to its mouth and neck.
“Additionally, the head cameras no longer work, the ports behind the neck that connect to the robot’s sensors that allow it to see and hear are dead, and the robot is unstable and can no longer walk straight,” the report states. The petition seeks damages, including actual and lost profits, though Rizzbot’s legal team declined to comment on the dollar amount the owner is seeking.
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Austin police had to be called after the incident, according to the report and a police report obtained by TechCrunch. The responding officer noted that damage to the Rizzbot was done without the owner’s “implied consent” and that the owner wanted to press charges. The report states that the investigation is ongoing.
Speed’s management team did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment.
When he arrived, Social Robotics’ lawyer, Joel Levinsaid the lawsuit arose after talks with Speed’s team broke down over how to compensate the Rizzbot owner for the damage caused to the robot.
“This was a live event, so there’s not much of a difference in terms of events,” Levine told TechCrunch. “What we’re looking for is some accountability.”
The report said Speed ”failed to act as a careful, reasonable and prudent person” and that he “improperly exercised control” of Rizzbot. He also said that as a result of the debacle, the team behind Rizzbot lost financial opportunities since Rizzbot can’t indefinitely participate in high-profile appearances and deals, including planned upcoming ones with The NFL Today and Mr. CBS’s Beast.
“This is undoubtedly a monumental setback for Rizzbot in terms of viral momentum and financial gain from exposure,” the report said. “Being in a production of MrBeast is like being in a Super Bowl commercial.”
The report said that in the month before the live stream, Rizzbot had more than 600 million views on TikTok and 200 million on Instagram. However, in the 28 days following the incident, the report claims that Rizzbot was unable to generate new content and therefore saw viewership decline by more than 70%. Rizzbot’s “intentional destruction caused significant financial damage that is likely permanent given the viral nature of social media,” the petition said.
Levine said there has been no official response to his plaintiff’s lawsuit and noted that they are still in the very early stages of the lawsuit. When reached for comment, Rizzbot told TechCrunch via email that he had to get “a whole new body” after Speed ”destroyed” his last one.
“Everything is brand new except for my Nike kicks and cowboy hat,” Rizzbot told TechCrunch in a statement. “Now I’m back online and feel like I’ve got the rizz game down and next I’ll be working on complex footwork like twerking – hopefully you’ll be seeing my hips gyrating in some new TV appearances soon – stay tuned, glory.”
