London’s high streets are being targeted by ‘oddball pickup artists’ who are harassing women and filming these encounters for TikTok, it has been claimed.
Earlier this week, a Reddit user called out TikTok user Rizz Ron (@rizzler2king) as an ‘absolute [sic] disgusting individual’ for recording his sleazy interactions with women in London and posting them online.
‘This loser incel first at first was only approaching women still quite disrespectfully to ask them out on the streets of central London.
‘But now his content has gone from that to asking women he doesn’t find attractive if they have boyfriends just to say ‘I’m surprised you do’ and also other videos saying nasty or offensive things to random women,’ the post on Reddit’s London page read.
While the anonymous user’s account – who allegedly uses camera glasses to record these encounters, no longer exists on TikTok, the warning sparked a conversation about the ‘huge rise of ‘nuisance YouTubers’ who make content by annoying [people] or being rude’.
In the comments section, Reddit users highlighted how streaming websites and social media algorithms have allowed these ‘content creators’ to run riot online – often with dangerous conquences.
‘Like that despicable young girl who dared a homeless woman to jump in a lake and ran off laughing as she drowned,’ one person wrote, referring to Austin influencer Natalie Reynolds’s widely condemned social media stunt.
Nuisance influencers are part of a class of content ‘creators’ that resort to harmful or disruptive behaviour to garner views and traction on social media and streaming sites like YouTube, Twitch, Rumble, and Kick.
Earlier this week, a Reddit user called out TikTok user Rizz Ron (@rizzler2king) as an ‘absolute [sic] disgusting individual’ for recording his sleazy interactions with women in London and posting them online
Reddit users highlighted how streaming websites and social media algorithms have allowed these ‘content creators’ like American influencer Natalie Reynolds (above) who was widely criticised for daring a homeless woman to jump into a lake
British TikToker and father-of-one Mizzy, real name Bacari-Bronze O’Garro, is among the UK’s most famous ‘chaos for clout’ influencers
In 2024, Reynolds was filmed daring a homeless woman to jump into a lake before running away when she discovered the woman couldn’t swim.
The stunt, which was shared on Reddit, showed Natalie encouraging the woman to jump into a lake before mocking her.
The woman dived in, then yelled that she ‘couldn’t swim as Natalie – claiming to be shocked – fled the scene. She was then filmed with her producers as a fire truck ‘rushed’ to the scene.
British TikToker and father-of-one Mizzy, real name Bacari-Bronze O’Garro, is among the UK’s most famous ‘chaos for clout’ influencers.
The 19-year-old Londoner became notorious for vile ‘pranks’ such as walking into strangers’ houses, stealing an elderly woman’s dog, ripping up library books and asking random passers-by ‘do you want to die’.
In 2023, he was sentenced to 18 weeks in a young offender institution for breaking a court order that blocked him from filming people without their consent, with a judge telling him his social media stunts were ‘not funny’.
And now, another ‘nuisance influencer’ faces jail after Johnny Somali – real name Ramsey Khalid Ismael – pleaded guilty to three counts of obstruction of justice tied to his racist, perverse, and disrespectful vlogs filmed in South Korea last year.
A long list of offences
American ‘nuisance influencer’ Johnny Somali – real name Ramsey Khalid Ismael – is currently on trial in Seoul, South Korea, for his disruptive, offensive, and perverse antics that he filmed and shared online
The Arizona native and self-proclaimed internet troll made a career out of causing a ruckus while travelling overseas and, despite multiple skirmishes with the law since 2023, it wasn’t until last November that Ismael faced his day of reckoning.
Ismael is currently on trial at a Seoul court after he was indicted and hit with a travel ban that prevented him from fleeing South Korea while his repeated, offensive actions since arriving in the country last October were investigated.
From brandishing bags of rotten fish in the face of pedestrians, and disrupting rush hour by playing North Korean songs and explicit content loudly, to displaying the drawing of the Japanese rising sun – widely considered offensive because of the relationship between the two countries, his list of offences is long.
However, the contentious streamer sparked widespread outrage after Ismael posted a video that showed him kissing the statue of a comfort woman, which represents victims of wartime sexual slavery during Japan’s occupation of Korea during World War II.
One especially revolting video showed Ismael groping the Statue of Peace at Changdong History and Culture Park, before taking off his shirt, pouring oil over his body, and twerking against it.
While he later apologised for his actions, the brazen ‘influencer’ refused to back down – with things coming to a head last year.
Following a series of incidents in Seoul, Ismael was banned from leaving the country pending a trial after he was accused of ‘causing a commotion’ at a convenience store in Seoul’s Mapo District.
A viral video showed Ismael, who is banned from entering Japan, showed him pouring ramen noodles on the table inside the store’s dining centre, blasting music and dancing between aisles before flinging noodles at other customers.
The contentious streamer sparked widespread outrage after Ismael posted a video that showed him kissing the statue of a comfort woman, which represents victims of wartime sexual slavery during Japan’s occupation of Korea during World War II
Following a series of incidents in Seoul, Ismael was banned from leaving the country pending a trial after he was accused of ‘causing a commotion’ at a convenience store in Seoul’s Mapo District
He made a number of lewd and aggressive remarks after a store worker confronted him for drinking on the premises, saying: ‘Call the police, stupid a** b****.’
‘F*** you, Chinese a** bitch,’ he continued, after she threatened to call the police.
Since he was put on probation and prohibited from leaving the country, Ismael has pleaded guilty to all three charges, including obstruction of business and violations of the Minor Offences Act, at his first trial hearing on March 12.
Even as prosecutors press for the maximum possible punishment to deter other ‘nuisance influencers’ by making an example of Ismael, he remained uncooperative and visibly lacking any remorse for his actions, some felt.
State news agency Yonhap reported that Ismael arrived an hour late for his hearing after claiming he had a stomach ache, and kept his hands in his pockets while answering questions.
He, once again, attempted to cause a stir by wearing a ‘Make America Great Again’ hat to the courtroom but was stopped due to court regulations, The South China Morning Post reported.
‘He even made mocking gestures like sticking out his tongue at someone seated in the courtroom gallery,’ a university professor, Seo Kyung-duk, told the news outlet, while calling on the court to send ‘a clear message through strong punishment’.
Experts noted that foreigners found guilty of a crime resulting in a fine of over three million won ($2,064) are ordered to leave the country – a likely outcome of Somali’s trial.
If the court imposes a prison sentence, Ismael will be required to serve it in a local prison before being deported back to the United States
‘Considering the multiple charges against Ismael, and the serious nature of his offences, it is very unlikely that he will receive a lighter penalty than this,’ immigration lawyer Kim Ju-hyeong.
If the court imposes a prison sentence, Ismael will be required to serve it in a local prison before being deported back to the United States.
‘Foreigners who are subject to a deportation order due to illegal actions are typically prohibited from entering the country for a certain period,’ Kim added, noting that these entry bans typically last for up to five years but can be made permanent for serious offenders.
If history is anything to go by, however, it will take more than a travel ban and a fine to stop Ismael.
In 2023, the streamer was slapped with a ¥200,000 (around £1,000) fine and banned from returning to Japan after he was found guilty of obstructing a business by playing loud noises on his phone at a restaurant.
While in Japan, Ismael also filmed himself harrassing passengers on the subway in Tokyo by shouting ‘Hiroshima’ and ‘Nagasaki’ at them, while referring to the World War II atomic bombings that killed nearly 400,000 people.
At his sentencing, Ismael vowed not to ‘broadcast videos’ and expressed his desire to ‘return to my home country, continue my studies, and be a role model’ before he made headlines, once again, for sexually harassing a female police officer in Israel last April.
He was detained at an anti-government protest in Tel Aviv, where he recorded himself berating the officer as a ‘b****’ while repeatedly saying ‘I’m from America, don’t touch me’ after she asked him to clear the sidewalk.
Ismael also headlines, once again, last April for sexually harassing a female police officer in Israel
Making lewd gestures, he then told her: ‘I’ll slap that a**, I’ll grab it too. Donald Trump told me to grab it by the p*ssy. I’ll grab that too.’
A widespread nuisance
The menace of nuisance infuencers is spreading, with reports of outrageous public behaviour coming in from India, Australia, the United States, and Japan – that’s become a hotspot for foreigners chasing social media clout with this particular brand of prank videos.
Earlier this year, a man from New Delhi, India’s capital, Varun Yadav was criticised after a viral video showed him and fellow influencer, Aarush Bhola, playing loud music on a flight – much to the chagrin of their fellow passengers.
The clip, which has racked up over three million likes, showed music blasting through a speaker placed in front of Varun as he boasted: ‘I told you I would play music on the plane.’
The pair later apologised and claimed they only played music for 15 seconds after borrowing a co-passenger’s speaker.
Hitting back against these ‘nuisance’ creators, some countries – inluding Nepal – are enforcing TikTok bans at popular tourist spots and places of worship.
In 2023, Forbes reported that ‘nuisance’ TikTokers were no longer allowed at sacred sites in Nepal, such as the Buddhist pilgrimage site Lumbini, Kathmandu’s Boudhanath Stupa, and the Ram Janaki and Gadhimai temples
Hitting back against these ‘nuisance’ creators, some countries – inluding Nepal – are enforcing TikTok bans at popular tourist spots and places of worship like the Boudhanath Stupa (above)
‘Making TikTok by playing loud music creates a nuisance for pilgrims from all over the world who come to the birthplace of Gautama Buddha,’ the Lumbini Development Trust’s Sanuraj Shakya told Rest of World.
‘We have banned TikTok-making in and around the sacred garden, where the main temples are located.’
The ‘nuisance’ YouTuber elected to European Parliament
While most of these content creators are often met with disdain and contempt, Cypriot YouTuber Fidias Panayiotou – best known dodging train fares in Japan in a bid to go viral – used his platform to win a seat in the European Parliament.
Last June, Fidias, 24, was elected as an independent to the European parliament despite having no political experience – as he leveraged his 2.6 million followers to vote for him in Cyprus.
In a unexpected victory seen as a rejection of traditional politics, he garnered 19.4 percent of the vote in the Mediterranean island-nation.
Before his political career began, however, Fidias caused a stir after the ‘professional mistake-maker’ uploaded a video titled ‘I Travelled Across Japan For Free’ involving him evading ticket officers and blagging free food in 2023.
In one clip, Panayiotou spent an entire train journey locked in the toilet of a bullet train, only to be met by a ticket officer waiting at his destination.
While most of these content creators are often met with disdain and contempt, Cypriot YouTuber Fidias Panayiotou – best known dodging train fares in Japan in a bid to go viral – used his platform to win a seat in the European Parliament
However, feigning illness, he escaped the staff member and ran away to do the same trick again.
At another point in the video, the YouTuber went into a Kyoto hotel, checked which room numbers existed and got a free buffet breakfast after purporting to be a guest.
He told viewers: ‘I just have access to a five-star Japanese buffet. And we’re leaving the hotel without getting caught and without any problem.’
Regional train operator JR Kyushu said it was ‘aware of the case and investigating facts around it,’ before potentially informing police.
Fidias later seemingly deleted the video after issuing an apology and promising to ‘research the cultures we go to’.
