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Boogie2988
Williams in 2018
Personal information
Born
Steven Jason Williams

(1974-07-24) July 24, 1974 (age 50)[1][2]
Abingdon, Virginia, U.S.[3]
OccupationYouTuber
Spouse
Desiree Williams
​
​
(m. 2013; div. 2018)​
[4]
YouTube information
Also known asBoogie
Channel
Years active2006–present
Genre(s)Gaming, comedy
Subscribers3.94 million[5]
Total views937 million[5]
Associated actsAngry Grandpa
Angry Joe
Keemstar
100,000 subscribers2012
1,000,000 subscribers2013
Last updated: March 24, 2024

Steven Jason Williams (born July 24, 1974), better known by his online alias Boogie2988 or simply Boogie,[6] is an American YouTuber best known for his video rants about video games and nerd culture as a character named Francis.[7][8]

Early life and education

Steven Jason Williams grew up in St. Paul, Virginia. His father was a coal miner, and his mother was a preschool teacher. He has two older siblings.[9]

Williams described his childhood as a "sad" time period in his life, due to dealing with obesity, lack of friends, and suffering verbal and physical abuse from his mother. Despite this, he considers her death in 2009 to be the "saddest moment" of his life. He had already been depressed due to his father dying of cancer.[9][10]

Williams graduated from St. Paul High School in Virginia[11] and attended University of Virginia's College at Wise but did not graduate.[9] He later moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas, where he did not leave his home for seven years while being financially supported by a friend. It was then that he discovered YouTube and started to create videos,[9] which he said "gave [his] life a meaning."[12]

YouTube career

The Francis character is based on stereotypes of nerdy video game players and often parodies trending video game news, reaction, and culture.

Williams based the character on his early life experiences and has said that he wants viewers to hate the character for embodying gamer stereotypes.[13] Williams videos range from absurd rants to serious discussions on daily life,[14] such as the ethics of paid promotion on YouTube channels, and his experiences with mental health.[6][15]

Williams won the Trending Gamer award at The Game Awards 2016.[16]

In June 2016, Williams' YouTube account was temporarily closed due to an anonymous hacker. The unidentified person got hold of his phone number via Verizon during his time at VidCon and was able to gain access to his accounts associated with it, including his YouTube channel. His channel was restored less than a week later.[17][18][19]

On May 13, 2023, Williams faced streamer WingsOfRedemption in a boxing match on the preliminary card of MF & DAZN: X Series 007.[20] Williams lost the fight via TKO in the second round.[21]

In November 2023, Williams appeared in a feature-length documentary by independent filmmaker Mike Clum, which analyzed his downfall as well as his financial situation.[22]

Williams is currently a co-host on Lolcow Live, a podcast created by fellow internet personality Keemstar, who also co-hosts the show, alongside Call of Duty streamer Jordie Jordan, also known as WingsOfRedemption.[23]

Controversies

In October 2018, Williams faced scrutiny due to his relationship with the controversial counseling service BetterHelp. He and other YouTubers sponsored by the service were accused of profiting from mental illness, which led to Williams publicly terminating his partnership with the company.[24] Later that month, Williams was removed from a Dungeons & Dragons charity event due to concerns from LGBT activists.[clarification needed][25]

In February 2019, Williams was criticized when he joked that he would "make a better team leader" over another player due to their parents' divorce and correlated it with anger issues during a live stream of the game Apex Legends.[26] In April 2019, Williams admitted to potentially committing tax fraud. He stated that he purchases Magic: The Gathering cards for his channel, writes them off as a business expense, and then resells them without claiming the income on his taxes. The IRS states that income above $400 from self-employment must be reported.[27] In June 2019, Williams faced criticism after clips from older live streams of him making racially charged comments resurfaced. He commented during one live stream, "That's a lot of money, I guess, for a person of color, or is it not?" after receiving a $3 donation from a follower who frequently donated to him on his stream with the message "I am a black person".[28]

On June 27, 2019, Williams announced on Twitter that he had purchased a new Tesla automobile.[29] Following his announcement, Williams held a live stream in early July in which he sarcastically asked for money to help pay for the new car, upsetting a portion of his viewers.[30] Williams subsequently received harsh criticism for his live stream, prompting him to clarify that he did not actually purchase the car, but rather only put a down payment on it, and that he had cancelled the order as a result of the backlash against him, among other things.

In August 2019, Williams made a controversial statement against his internet trolls where he claimed "I think that there are rapists and Nazis out there who... are more redeemable than you because at least they're doing something they believe in."[31]

On June 27, 2024, Williams launched and promoted a new cryptocurrency called "Faddy Coin" on his Twitter. Stephen "Coffeezilla" Findeisen, a YouTuber who investigates online scams, accused Williams of promoting a cryptocurrency scam. Findeisen specifically noted that the Faddy Coin had lost 90% of its value by June 28, 2024. In response, Williams claimed that none of his fans would buy the cryptocurrency. Instead, he asserted that his cryptocurrency would only be bought by millionaires who would "waste .01% of their worth on a meme coin as a joke".[32] Williams apologized on his Twitter on July 2, 2024. In the apology, he stated that he had deleted every Faddy Coin he had owned, before writing: "If any fan comes forward and can show me they lost money on that coin I will gladly apologize to them. I will try to do more than just apologize and see what else I can do to make you whole."[33]

Alleged cancer diagnosis

On November 15, 2022, Williams published a video on his YouTube channel stating that he had been diagnosed with a rare blood cancer known as polycythemia vera, which is a genetic condition causing overproduction of red blood cells, causing blood to thicken, and carrying a risk of blood clots, stroke, or heart attack.[34] During Coffeezilla's discussion with Williams regarding Faddy Coin, Williams stated that a majority of the money he made had been put to helping treat the condition.[33]

On July 10, 2024, Williams was confronted on a live podcast by popular political streamer Steven Bonnell, known as Destiny, who alleged Williams was lying about having cancer. Bonnell alleged that the circumstances Williams has stated about his alleged diagnosis did not align with having polycythemia vera, but more closely aligned with secondary polycythemia, namely that a substantial cause of secondary polycythemia is taking exogenous hormones, and Williams had stated he was undergoing testosterone replacement therapy, as well as another condition Williams has stated he has, sleep apnea, which causes a lack of oxygen intake overnight, thus causing a decrease in oxygen in the blood, which would cause the blood to then produce more red blood cells, none of which are primarily consistent with polycythemia vera, as it is a genetic condition. Bonnell also pointed out that Williams has stated he is waiting on a biopsy to confirm his diagnosis, despite already claiming to be diagnosed.[35]

Despite encouragement from Bonnell and other hosts of the podcast to release a portion of his medical documents confirming any sort of cancer diagnosis, and despite being offered thousands of dollars in exchange for such confirmation, Williams has openly refused to release any portion of his medical documents, stating that doing so would give away the last bit of privacy he has, and saying he would be okay with the internet believing he lied about having cancer as long as he retains his privacy.

Later during the livestream, after Bonnell disconnected, Williams deactivated his Twitter account, only to reinstate it less than a week later on July 15, 2024, after which he released a statement, in which he stated that he has paperwork stating he has polycythemia vera, and saying that his doctor told him he had the condition, but stating that he should've "never jumped the gun like that" and saying "of all the fuck-ups that I've ever made in this life, this is the one that will haunt me to the bitter end, as it should."[36]

Following this controversy, Williams was fired from a podcast he shares with fellow internet personality Keemstar, Lolcow Live, but was rehired as a host after Williams agreed to tattoo the word "liar" on his face as a punishment.[37][38]

Personal life

Shortly after his mother's death in 2009, he met Desiree, "Dez" for short, and she moved to Arkansas to live with him. She later became known in his content as Dez2988, taking on his numerical suffix and occasionally portraying the unseen character of Francis' sister. In October 2013, Williams and Desiree got married.[citation needed] Williams had gastric bypass surgery due to morbid obesity on August 1, 2017.[39] On December 19, 2017, Williams announced that Desiree filed for divorce and had planned to for a while, but waited until he sufficiently recovered from his gastric bypass surgery which was back in August.[4] In October 2018, Williams stated that his divorce was finalized back in February.[40]

Williams is a theist.[41]

On July 11, 2023, Williams announced that he was in a relationship with Deziree Davis.[a][42]

Aggravated assault charge

In September 2020, Williams began trending on Twitter after news broke out of an ongoing conflict between him and Frank Hassle, a YouTuber who began harassing him over the course of several months after suspecting he was the cause of his channels' termination. After Hassle had made his way down to Williams' home in Arkansas, the two were interviewed by Keemstar, in which Williams threatened to kill Hassle if he stepped on his property. The next day after Hassle showed up at his house wearing a GoPro, Williams pulled out a revolver and fired a warning shot into the air, causing Hassle to eventually leave. A police investigation was launched shortly afterwards. On May 7, 2021, a warrant was issued for Williams' arrest on a charge of aggravated assault with a $5,000 bond by the Washington County, Arkansas sheriff's department.[43][44] Williams turned himself in on May 12, was processed over the course of three hours and posted bail.[45] On March 7, 2022, Williams stated that his case was settled on a deferred adjudication.[46][better source needed] Hassle, meanwhile, was never criminally charged for the incident.

Filmography

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2014 Supersize vs Superskinny Himself 1 episode

Web

Year Title Role Notes
2014 Did You Know Gaming? Himself Episode: Skyrim
2015 Your Grammar Sucks Himself 2 episodes
2016 Super Planet Dolan Himself / Francis (voice) Episode: What Are Earthquakes Called On Mars?
2016 Crash Zoom Mancis (voice) Episode: Sky Scam
2016–2019 Youtubers React Himself 10 episodes
2017 H3 Podcast Himself 3 episodes
2018 HowToBasic Himself Episode: "Face Reveal"
2023 The Dark, Sad Life of Boogie2988 Himself Documentary

Podcasts

Year Title Role Notes
2023 – present Lolcow Live Himself (co-host)

Exhibition boxing record

1 fight 0 wins 1 loss
By knockout 0 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
1 Loss 0–1 WingsOfRedemption TKO 2 (3), 0:29 May 13, 2023 Wembley Arena, London, England 1 minute rounds

Notes

  1. ^ Not to be confused with the name of his ex-wife, Desiree.

References

  1. ^ @Boogie2988 (July 24, 2016). "Birthday stream on Twitch in about an hour and a half! See you there!" (Tweet). Retrieved December 25, 2019 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ "ITS MY BIRTHDAY! WOOHOO!!". YouTube. July 27, 2014. Archived from the original on August 20, 2014. Retrieved December 25, 2016.
  3. ^ "My Origin Story: Where I Grew Up In Small Town Southwest Virginia..." YouTube. Boogie2988. July 2, 2019. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  4. ^ a b "It's true, wife and I are getting a divorce. Here's whats next for us". youtube.com. December 19, 2017. Archived from the original on February 28, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  5. ^ a b "About boogie2988". YouTube.
  6. ^ a b Grayson, Nathan (October 8, 2014). "The Messy Story Behind YouTubers Taking Money For Game Coverage". Kotaku. Archived from the original on October 18, 2014. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  7. ^ Sam Machkovech (March 25, 2015). ""That life is over": Zoe Quinn looks beyond GamerGate". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on May 1, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  8. ^ Amini, Tina (December 14, 2013). "A Note To Everyone Who Says YouTubers Should 'Get A Real Job'". Kotaku. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  9. ^ a b c d "Draw My Life - Boogie2988 (Aka Francis)". YouTube. April 10, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  10. ^ "On the death of my mother". YouTube. October 6, 2010.
  11. ^ My Origin Story: Where I Grew Up In Small Town Southwest Virginia..., July 2, 2019, archived from the original on July 10, 2019, retrieved August 24, 2019
  12. ^ "The Meaning Of Life" Archived May 12, 2021, at the Wayback Machine, YouTube, December 15, 2008
  13. ^ Narcisse, Evan (December 1, 2013). "The Bittersweet Story of Francis, YouTube's Biggest Video Game Nerd". Kotaku. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  14. ^ Writer/Director/Producer, Alex Koenig; Koenig", Host of "Point Blank With Alex (March 18, 2014). "Four Years Ago, Boogie2988 Was on Disability -- Now He's a YouTube Star". HuffPost. Archived from the original on November 23, 2016. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  15. ^ Jessica Conditt (January 23, 2014). "YouTuber boogie2988 on Microsoft contracts: 'It is the norm'". Engadget. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  16. ^ Stark, Chelsea (December 1, 2016). "The Game Awards: Here's the full winners list". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 2, 2016. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  17. ^ Adame, Dennis (June 27, 2016). "YouTube Gamer Boogie2988 has his channel hacked and closed". www.gameskinny.com. Archived from the original on August 3, 2016. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  18. ^ HOW I GOT HACKED!, June 28, 2016, archived from the original on June 30, 2016, retrieved August 14, 2019
  19. ^ "What Boogie2988's Hacking Can Teach Creators About Cybersecurity". What's Trending. July 1, 2016. Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  20. ^ Keemstar (April 23, 2023). "Wings of Redemption vs Boogie2988 Trailer is now Live on #DramaAlert YouTube Channel!". Twitter.
  21. ^ "WingsOfRedemption stops Boogie2988! Stream the full fight replay now". Bloody Elbow. May 13, 2023. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  22. ^ Dee, Katherine (November 9, 2023). "Pity the plight of the internet celebrity". UnHerd. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  23. ^ "LolcowLive - About". YouTube. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  24. ^ Lorenz, Taylor (October 12, 2018). "YouTube Stars Are Being Accused of Profiting Off Fans' Depression". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on December 14, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  25. ^ "Alt-right gamers are lying to you on YouTube". The Daily Dot. October 26, 2018. Archived from the original on September 4, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  26. ^ "Boogie2988 Under Fire For Joke Made While Streaming 'Apex Legends'". WWG. February 16, 2019. Archived from the original on August 20, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  27. ^ "Boogie May Have Admitted To Committing Tax Fraud During A Livestream". TheGamer. April 4, 2019. Archived from the original on August 20, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  28. ^ "Controversial YouTuber Boogie2988 under fire for racist comments on stream". Dexerto.com. June 27, 2019. Archived from the original on November 29, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  29. ^ @Boogie2988 (June 27, 2019). "I legit just bought a tesla. This is my first new car in my lifetime. I am shaking baked so excited!!!!" (Tweet). Retrieved January 17, 2020 – via Twitter.
  30. ^ "Fans outraged after Boogie2988 "begs" for money following $100k Tesla purchase". Dexerto.com. July 2, 2019. Archived from the original on August 20, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  31. ^ Sant, Sam (August 29, 2019). "Boogie2988 says 'rapists and Nazis' are more redeemable than his trolls". Game Revolution. Archived from the original on May 12, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  32. ^ Shrivastava, Aarnesh (June 28, 2024). "YouTuber Boogie2988 addresses community amid allegations of pulling crypto scam on his audience". Sportskeeda.
  33. ^ a b Bhattacharya, Richik (July 3, 2024). "YouTuber Boogie2988 apologizes after cryptocurrency scam controversy and claims he will try to help those affected by it". Sportskeeda.
  34. ^ ""I Have A Rare Form Of Cancer."". YouTube. November 15, 2022. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  35. ^ Faulkner, Jason (July 10, 2024). "Why Was Boogie2988 Accused of Faking Cancer Diagnosis by Destiny?". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  36. ^ @Boogie2988 (July 15, 2024) "Of all the mistakes and fuck ups I've ever made in this life, this was the one that will haunt me to the bitter end, as it should." (Tweet) X.
  37. ^ Shrivastava, Aarnesh (July 25, 2024). "Boogie2988 seemingly gets "LIAR" tattooed on his face following the fake cancer diagnosis controversy". Sportskeeda.
  38. ^ Ravenna, Isabel (August 23, 2024). "What's The Deal With YouTuber Boogie2988's 'Liar' Face Tattoo?". Complex. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  39. ^ "Boogie2988 Surgery Update". Heavy.com. August 2017. Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  40. ^ IT'S FINALLY OVER! - My final video about my Divorce (YouTube). Boogie2988. October 15, 2018. Event occurs at 1:19. We had divorced in February.
  41. ^ Steven Jay Williams [@Boogie2988] (February 4, 2021). "Grew up Christian. Spent a long time atheist and nihilist. Became agnostic for a while and now consider myself a theist" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  42. ^ https://x.com/Boogie2988/status/1678935511946129408/photo/1 [bare URL]
  43. ^ "What happened between Boogie2988 and Frank Hassle? YouTuber fires gun over harassment". GameRevolution. September 29, 2020. Archived from the original on November 24, 2020. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  44. ^ Trobaugh, Justin (May 11, 2021). "Popular YouTuber 'Boogie2988' has warrant out for his arrest". KNWA-TV. Nexstar Media. Archived from the original on May 12, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  45. ^ "Popular YouTube personality faces charge of aggravated assault in Washington County". Arkansas Online. May 13, 2021. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  46. ^ "My Legal Issues Are Finally over". YouTube. March 7, 2022.
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