Internet personality Sam Pepper is catching heat after firing a handheld firework during a live IRL stream in India that struck a young girl in the face.
Video from the broadcast shows Pepper aiming and discharging what appears to be a Roman candle-style firework toward a group across the street that included children.
One of the projectiles hit the girl directly in the face and eye area.
Shortly after it happened, a local man approached Pepper on camera and told him the girl had lost an eye. Pepper’s immediate response was to deflect blame, stating on stream that the other group “started it” and framing his actions as retaliation.
The extent of the girl’s injury remains unverified.
Some viewers analyzing longer footage suggest the visible injury may be above the eye rather than to the eye itself, but the exact nature and severity of the injury is unclear.
Kick suspended Pepper’s account shortly after this happened. Users claim the ban is temporary, though this has not been officially confirmed by the platform. No police report or formal legal action in India has been publicly confirmed at this time.
A pattern of controversy
This incident adds to a long history of problematic behavior from Pepper.
The British creator first gained prominence on UK Big Brother in 2010 before building a YouTube audience with controversial prank content.
In 2014, he faced serious allegations of sexual harassment related to videos where he groped women on camera, presenting it as a “prank.
More recently, Sam Pepper was implicated in the 2021 SaveTheKids crypto token controversy, which involved several influencer promotions. Investigative YouTuber Coffeezilla reported that Pepper played a behind-the-scenes role in the project, including influencing changes to the token’s anti-whale mechanism.
