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Destiny (streamer)

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Destiny
Bonnell in June 2020
Personal information
Born
Steven Bonnell II

(1988-12-12) December 12, 1988 (age 36)
Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationTwitch streamer/YouTuber
Websitedestiny.gg
Twitch information
Channel
Years active2011–present
Genre(s)Video gaming, political commentary
Games
Followers604,300
Last updated: November 25, 2020
YouTube information
GenrePolitics/Gaming
Subscribers303,000
(November 29, 2020)
Total views150 million
(November 29, 2020)
100,000 subscribersMarch 2018

Steven Kenneth Bonnell II (born December 12, 1988), better known by his online alias Destiny is an American Twitch streamer and YouTube personality. Bonnell was among the first people to commit to full-time streaming and received some attention as a pioneer of the emerging industry.[1]

Early life

Bonnell grew up in Omaha, Nebraska in a conservative Catholic home.[2] He attended Creighton Preparatory School, a private, Jesuit high school in Omaha.[3] When he was in his teens his parents moved to take care of an aging relative and he lived with his grandmother until he was 18.[2] He attended the University of Nebraska, working at a local casino and dropping out in 2010.[2] He worked in restaurants and as a carpet cleaner.[4][5][2]

Career

Bonnell began his online career as a professional Starcraft 2 player who livestreamed his matches.[1][6] According to Bonnell, he first started livestreaming in January 2011 on the website Justin.tv.[5] Bonnell eventually signed with Quantic Gaming.[7] Later, Bonnell would end up 4th in the 2011 MLG Global North American invitational.[citation needed]

Bonnell has also received coverage for his live-streamed political debates.[2] Bonnell, along with Natalie Wynn, were credited by YouTuber Caleb Cain for his turn away from the alt-right.[2] The New York Times has also identified Bonnell's political content, and particularly his combative debating style, as a force that has successfully worked against the far-right radicalization which some people experience through watching online videos.[8][9] Bonnell describes himself as a rule utilitarian[10] and a social democrat.[citation needed]

Throughout Bonnell's early career, he was well known for his provocative persona and common use of crass language.[1] This led to temporary suspensions from the Twitch platform for insensitive language. In September of 2020, Twitch provided notice to Bonnell that his partnership agreement would be terminated in October 2020. Twitch did not provide a specific reason for the termination.[11]

A debate between Bonnell and well-known YouTuber JonTron on the latter's racial views became popular and controversial.[12]

Personal life

Bonnell lives in Los Angeles. He has a son who lives in Nebraska.[2] Bonnell is openly bisexual, and is currently in an open relationship with Swedish streamer Melina Göransson.[13][14]

He has described himself as an agnostic atheist.[15] He is of Cuban descent on his mother's side.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b c McCormick, Rich (August 26, 2014). "This is why people want to watch other people play video games". The Verge. Archived from the original on June 28, 2020. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Quirk, Trevor (January 15, 2020). "Can This Notorious Troll Turn People Away From Extremism?". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Archived from the original on June 28, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  3. ^ Breland, Ali (April 1, 2020). "Steve Bonnell Made Big Bucks Following a Simple Plan: Play Video Games. Troll Your Fans. Fight the Online Right". Mother Jones. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  4. ^ Destiny (May 17, 2016), My Life Before I Started Streaming, retrieved November 2, 2018
  5. ^ a b Bonnell, Steve (March 17, 2013). "My Journey In Streaming". Destiny. Archived from the original on June 28, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  6. ^ "Inside the new world of 24/7 on-demand videogame TV". Edge. July 1, 2013. Archived from the original on July 7, 2013. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  7. ^ "Steven "Destiny" Bonnell joins Quantic Gaming". www.gamasutra.com. Archived from the original on June 28, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  8. ^ "Three: Mirror Image". The New York Times. April 30, 2020. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  9. ^ Roose, Kevin (June 8, 2019). "The making of a youtube radical". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 29, 2020. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  10. ^ "Destiny. Advocating for political violence - Destiny debates I, Hypocrite". May 15, 2019. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  11. ^ Bonnell, Steven Kenneth II. "Discussing Twitch Departnering and Plans Moving Forward". YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ Gajanan, Mahita (March 14, 2017). "YouTube Star JonTron Under Fire for Comments on Race and Immigration". Time. Archived from the original on September 3, 2019. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  13. ^ Peterson, Jesse Lee. "Liberal Gamer DESTINY is Back for More!". YouTube. Retrieved August 11, 2020. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. ^ Bonnell, Steven Kenneth II (August 24, 2020). "Destiny and Melina Discuss Having a Baby?!". YouTube. Retrieved September 26, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. ^ Bonnell, Steven Kenneth II. "Young Earth creationism - Destiny debates Kent Hovind". YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ Bernal, Alan (October 24, 2019). "Trihex gets angry with Destiny over use of racial slurs". Dexerto.com. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
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