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Dylan Mulvaney, a social media influencer who faced a transphobic backlash earlier this year after partnering with Bud Light, was welcomed Sunday night at the Streamy Awards honoring social media creators.
Mulvaney won the Outstanding Creator Award at the ceremony held at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles. An emotional Mulvaney urged the audience to work hard to be allies of the LGBT community. Mulvaney told the audience that trans people and social media stars have a lot in common. And they said, “People often underestimate us.”
Mulvaney nodded at the flap they were subjected to after Bud Light backed out of a promotional partnership with them after Anheuser-Busch was inundated with an orchestrated campaign of anti-gay complaints. TikTok users called on Streamy’s audience to use their reach and influence to promote anti-hate messages.
“If we can influence people to buy $25 juice at Irwan, we can also do that,” Mulvaney said. “I’ll go have a beer.”
The 13th Streamy Awards, hosted by YouTube star MatPat, was a lively affair overall. Top favorites like AMP, Ryan Trahan, Jay Shetty, Michaela Nogueira, Hassan Abi and Kai Senat all had clear cheer sections on the dance floor. A number of attendees brought older children, from pre-teens to the age of twenty, to help them identify the social media stars present in the room.
Most acceptance speeches were short and sweet, bypassing the entertainment industry conventions of listing agents, managers, and advertisers. Most of the winners used some variation of the phrase “I appreciate you.”
But there were honest moments. Chris Olsen, the TikTok star best known for his work with Meghan Trainor, spoke from the heart after being awarded the trophy for short content. “Nothing good would have happened in my life if I hadn’t gone to rehab when I was 19 and sober,” he said. “take care of yourself.”
The nonprofit Invisible People received the Elevate Award for Social Good for its coverage of the growth of the chronically homeless population as featured on its YouTube channel. Mark Horvath, founder of the Los Angeles-based organization, told the crowd that he recently celebrated the 28th anniversary of his last day as a homeless person. He warned that a “perfect storm” of homelessness is still brewing in Los Angeles because the cost of housing has so far spiraled out of control. “We need to reach out to communities to fix the affordable housing crisis,” Horvath said.
Streamer of the Year awards went to Kai Cenat, the Twitch personality who was accused of inciting riots at Union Square’s Washington Square Park in New York on August 4 by announcing a surprise giveaway of PlayStation 5 consoles. “This year has been crazy,” Senat said, adding His first thanks were to God. “God exists. Without God, there is no we,” he said. “I am only blessed.”
Creator of the Year award went to YouTuber MrBeast for the fourth year in a row. The character, whose first name is Jimmy Donaldson, did not attend the event. Link, who is one half of popular social media duo Rhett and Link, added a sharp note after revealing the category winner. “If you’re going to keep giving him awards, he has to show up,” Link said of MrBeast.
Michelle Khan’s gritty YouTube series Challenge Accepted won Show of the Year. Khan dismisses the notion that social media content is being aggregated quickly and cheaply. Her show documents her daring to take on extraordinary challenges ranging from training as an astronaut to rehearsing for a Broadway show to learning to become a 911 dispatcher. Each 15- to 35-minute episode takes about 12 months to produce, Khan said.
“This is a show that could not have been greenlighted by any other studio,” Khan told the audience. As a social media creator, “the only barrier to entry was the upload button.”
Meghan Trainor has been named Rolling Stone Sound of the Year for her catchy song “Made You Look.” “I wrote this for my postpartum body,” said the Nantucket-born singer-songwriter who took home a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2016.
Streamy Awards is produced by Dick Clark Productions and Tubefilter. Dick Clark Productions Inc diverse Parent company Penske Media Corp.
Here is the full list of Streamy Awards winners:
Honoring the creators of Streamys
Brittany Broski received the award from Amelia Demoldenberg
He won the Korea Vegan Award from The Korea Vegan
Vivian Medrano Award from Brandon Rogers
Overall awards
Maker of the Year: MrBeast
Presentation of the Year: Accepting the Challenge • Michel Khair
Streamer of the Year: Kai Senat
International: eBay
Short form: Chris Olsen
Individual awards
Hack Maker: Dylan Mulvaney
Streamer Breakout: Phanom
Collaboration: MrBeast, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson • Surprised he didn’t choose rock every time
Creative for Social Good: The Invisible People
Innovative Product: PRIME • Logan Paul x KSI
Cross: Jonas Brothers
First person: Ryan Trahan
Just chatting: res
Variety streamer: IShowSpeed
On YouTube: Gore Gora
Rolling Stone Voice of the Year: Made You Look • Meghan Trainor
Show awards
Podcast: On Purpose with Jay Shetty
Written Series: BRYCE • Brandon Rogers
Unscripted Series: Sam and Colby
Theme Awards
Animation: HELLUVA BOSS • Vivziepop
Beauty: Michaela Nogueira
Comedy: RDC World
Comment: penguinz0
Competitive player: TenZ
Dance: Enola Bedard
Fashion and Style: Wisdom Kay
Food: Nick DiGiovanni
Player: A dream
Health and Wellness: Dr. Julie
Children and family: Mrs. Rachel
Learning and Education: TierZoo
Lifestyle: amp
News: Hassan Abi
Science and Engineering: I did my thing
Sports: Geser
Technology: Marquis Brownlee
Craft Awards
Cinematography: Reeder, Nicholas Adams
Editing: The Yes Theory – Thomas Dager, Cam Biddle, Tristan Kiewicz
Visual and special effects: Zack King
Writing: Leo Gonzalez
Brand Awards
Brand of the Year: Barbie
Agency of the Year: Agency of Access
Brand post: Insta360
Branded series: LIVE@4:25 • Totino’s Pizza Rolls x the Chety Boyos, Flighthouse, Content+ on Mindshare
Branded video: ASMcaR • Nissan x Donut
Influencer Campaign: Blast to the Top • Gel Blaster x BENlabs
Social Impact Campaign: Playing by the Rules • ICRC x PopShorts
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