CINCINNATI, OHIO: Darren Watkins, also known as IShowSpeed, has once again captured headlines by sharing his driving license acquisition journey with his staggering 21 million YouTube followers.
This move, however, has triggered speculation regarding whether IShowSpeed utilized questionable means, possibly bribing a DMV agent, to obtain his license in light of a recent test drive mishap. There are claims on the Internet suggesting the process was "illegal."
For context, during an In Real Life (IRL) stream, "Speed" organized a driving test with an instructor present. Unfortunately, a clip of him accidentally driving into a ditch has already circulated widely, and it's safe to say this incident didn't bode well for the test.
Did IShowSpeed actually bribe to get a driver's license?
During a recent IShowSpeed livestream, he staged a driving test scenario where he appeared to try and bribe a DMV agent for his driver's license.
However, after a clip of the staged crash gained traction, viewers shared images from previous streams where he had already shown his driver's license, indicating that the entire interaction was likely a scripted performance involving paid actors. Fans posted snapshots of his license from earlier streams.
This revelation implies that the "bribe" Speed offered the fake DMV agent was merely a part of the act, as the agent wasn't genuine. He had enlisted a paid actor to play the role of a DMV agent overseeing a driving test. As mentioned earlier, Speed ended up causing a faux accident by driving the car into a ditch, and this clip went viral on social media.
Predictably, the make-believe DMV agent marked Speed as a failure in the test, prompting the streamer to attempt a mock negotiation with the "inspector" and ultimately offer him $5,000 to pass.
Fans clearly found the entire performance highly entertaining. However, some fans who took it at face value deemed it as "illegal."
Internet reacts to IShowSpeed's driving stream
The clip of IShowSpeed persuading the instructor elicited a flurry of opinions on X. One fan said, "Staged but still funny." Another wrote, "That has to be illegal if tomorrow speed has an accident and a car accident is going to happen because of the instructor for giving him his license."
A third said, "Bro went through all that effort and it was a skit the whole time." Someone else wrote, "Speed what you trying to do we ain't ready for that." Another wondered, "Bullshit where’s his seat."
