Kai Cenat breaks silence about Union Square giveaway chaos in Twitch livestream: "I had good intentions"
NEW YORK -- Kai Cenat, the streamer who caused all the trouble last Friday in Union Square, has broken his silence in a livestream on Twitch.
Cenat got on his Twitch overnight and spoke to his fans about last week's incident.
"After Friday, I've come to realize the amount of not only power but influence that I have on people," he said in the nearly 10-minute video.
The mayhem started early Friday afternoon when the social media star posted he was going to give out free PlayStation 5 consoles to fans. By mid-afternoon, thousands of people showed up -- climbing on subway construction, statues and even cars.
Police said they arrested more than 60 people during the chaos, and the majority of them were juveniles.
Investigators eventually caught up with Cenat and said he didn't have a permit for the event. He was charged with felony rioting in the first-degree, as well as inciting a riot and unlawful assembly.
After days of reflecting, Cenat broke his silence and said he didn't mean to cause the commotion.
"Being from New York, it has been my dream to want to give back to the community that made me who I am," he said. "I want people to know that none of that was my intention, I had good intentions for this whole thing... I don't condone any of the things that went on that day."
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His team also released a statement, reading in part, "We are deeply disheartened by the outbreak of disorderly conduct that affected innocent people and businesses, and do not condone that behavior. We apologize to all of those impacted. We are fully cooperating with local authorities."
Cenat is expected to appear in court on August 18.