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Controversy has begun to surround a relatively niche pop culture figure in millennial circles. Hasan “HasanAbi” Piker is a Turkish-American political commentator who formerly worked for his uncle Cenk Uygur on the popular left-wing television show The Young Turks. He eventually moved on to Twitch, a live-stream website owned by Amazon. HasanAbi’s political ideology tends to swing — from self-identification as a Marxist, democratic socialist, socialist, communist, or anti-capitalist. His past controversial statements have contributed to his polarizing reputation. Years ago, he claimed, “America deserved 9/11” (which he has argued was misrepresented). Recently, he went on an expletive-laden rant about Representative Dan Crenshaw’s (R-TX) military service in Iraq.
This week, news surfaced that HasanAbi had purchased a $2.7 million five-bedroom, five-and-a-half bathroom West Hollywood home. Immediately, news of the sale broke on Twitter and Reddit, igniting a debate in the social media political realm. His detractors called him a hypocrite, pointing out his champagne socialist fascination with “eating the rich” and dehumanizing the upper class. Now, he seems to see no issue with buying a multi-million-dollar home.
Hasan Piker
As cries of a double standard grew on Twitter, HasanAbi’s supporters fought back. For one, he had not earned his money through traditional capitalism: His income depends on the generosity of his viewers, either from donations or subscriptions to his channel, which typically earn streamers around $2.50 a month for each one. Today, HasanAbi has more than 50,000 subscribers, which equal $1.5 million in gross income per year, not including donations, ad revenue, and sponsorships. For his followers, HasanAbi has earned their money with his self-produced content, although that would be impossible without Amazon’s platform. They also argue that he is likely bringing in his family to live with him, so a large home is necessary, and, anyway, in high-cost Los Angeles, a $2.7 million home may not be as lavish as you think. Finally, they claim, HasanAbi never criticizes the wealth of millionaires but that of the capitalist billionaire class.
The debate began to involve other streamers who are part of Twitch’s growing political sphere, either defending or attacking HasanAbi. Rebuttals flew, some calling the streamer a hypocrite for exploiting the “laborers” at Twitch he does not have to pay. Others asked how HasanAbi can speak in solidarity with the working class — like he did when describing his run-down apartment lifestyle and his dilapidated Toyota Camry – now that he owns expensive digs? Or use his image to promote Marxism to America’s youth, while making a tremendous amount of money?
Despite the fireworks on Twitter, HasanAbi seems no worse off. Instead, he appears to have joined the ranks of the growing list of millionaire socialists. Just remember that Bernie Sanders stopped criticizing millionaires when he became one.
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Read more from Jose Backer.
