Instagram/@markrober
Previously with NASA before going into YouTube, Mark Rober has recently worked with the controversial streamer IShowSpeed on the freshly released video titled “3 Levels of Reaction Speed!” The upload features a somewhat messy clip of the duo testing doubles with explosives, with most views on Rober’s channel being divided—and mostly from the opposition to the collab.
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Very much unpredictable, it is loud, energetic, and highly charged. It shows Rober and Speed (Darren Watkins Jr.) performing a reaction time test accompanied by the bursting of huge explosive fireworks. The transcription reads like chaos: “WAAAAAAA! What is… are you serious right today bro? Wait… what the… is this? Wait… WAAAAAAA! Yo! Yup, three. Okay, get ready. Three, two, one! WAAAAAAA! Are you serious right today? Are you serious right today?”. That blisteringly quick energy is in stark contrast to Rober’s very measured and educational manner.
Apparently, the collab has struck a nerve amongst Rober’s followers. The comment sections became a battlefield of opinions, showing how divided his fanbase has become. A good chunk of viewers openly scorned it. Once user-type comment read, “Mark, we don’t need this colab,” echoed—albeit in different words—by another: “The collab nobody asked for or needed”. Most of the criticism focused on IShowSpeed’s public image, which, in the opinion of quite a few, is way too much and obnoxious. One fan wrote, “Speed is way too obnoxious,” while another said, “guy sometimes speed it’s just so performative it’s like he’s not even a person man…”
today the attacks began to turn into a lament. A long comment that begins by highlighting specific controversies goes, “Why are you working with this guy? He has so much controversy around him. I remember when he was in Amsterdam and the police had to shut him down… He doesn’t seem like a good person to me.” Essentially, that means associating with Speed could ultimately put a dent into Rober’s good name as a family-friendly and credible scientist. Another commenter just put it plainly, “Mark is really out there throwing his credibility in the trash doing collabs with literal scammers.”
Some, however, really appreciated the nick of time humor of the duo, especially watching Speed battle to keep his language clean: “Speed trying not to swear is so funny 😂,” commented one, sparking a series of responses with people discussing their “naked” censorship struggles. Others just commented on the streamer’s energy: one said, “I like him. He’s like a 6-year-old.” One person chimed in with another balanced perspective, conceding: “I can respect that he’s a big offer, he has a big following. Does a lot of cool stuff. He’s way too ‘On’ and performative though. Maybe I’m just old and grouchy lol.”
Amidst all these back and forths, some tried to steer back to Rober’s more established kind of content, with someone saying “today do devils toothpaste 😂😂,” referencing one of his famous experiments. Then, of course, came the calls for help and promotions of big accounts that stood out even more from the heated debates.
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The collab marks a paradoxical shift from Mark’s usual branding. Although a few more collabs have been done with other big names, going with a controversial character like IShowSpeed is a calculated risk. The intensity of the response from his followers shows that there really are big challenges popular creators face when they try to expand their reach outside into new, sometimes even conflicting, online spheres. While testing reaction times on-lens, this video really ended up testing the loyalty as well as the tolerance of Rober’s own crowd. The stark divide in opinion just goes to show that even as sweetheart as Rober is, he cannot please all of his supporters once he steps out of his comfort zone.
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