Am I Going to Finally Have to Learn Who Kai Cenat Is?

Twitch was one of those things that I didn’t feel the need to know about. It seemed like a corner of the internet that was thriving without me and I without it. When I tried to use the website, it felt like a more overstimulating version of YouTube. But now, there’s one Twitch streamer that I can’t afford to ignore: Kai Cenat. 

The 23-year-old has broken through the Twitchverse into the mainstream. And don’t get me wrong, I’m late to the party! Cenat already has over 19 million followers on Twitch, plus 13.5 million followers on YouTube, has starred in Super Bowl commercials and is regularly hanging out with celebrities like Kevin Hart. 

But I felt too old to be involved in all of that; I had a passing fluency in who Cenat was and what he did, but I just wasn’t his target audience. The only major online figure I know less about is MrBeast. And that’s because as someone raised in the deeply religious and superstitious part of the South, I do fear the dark energy emanating from him. You don’t lock people in a box for 40 days or build prisons for fun if you aren’t communing with the devil. 

Now, though, Cenat has become almost impossible to ignore. He’s currently on his third “Mafiathon,” which is a Twitch stream marathon that can last for more than 30 days. The way it works is that the more engagement it gets, the longer it lasts. The stream is 24 hours a day, every day until it’s done. To keep it engaging, Cenat brings on celebrity guests. As I type this story, NBA superstar and champion right-fist-puncher Draymond Green is walking around Cenat’s basketball court.

Before Green, Marlon Wayans joined the stream for a few hours, alongside pop star Kehlani. 

While on the stream, Wayans admitted that he didn’t think there was a chance of making White Chicks 2. Not because of the usual “you couldn’t make White Chicks today” type of reasoning but because Wayans doesn’t think he could spend seven hours getting into the White Chicks makeup again. “Seven hours in makeup everyday,” Wayans lamented. “And then we work 14 hours after that. That’s why when people are like, ‘Hey you want to do White Chicks 2?’ Um, no.” 

An update about a long-anticipated sequel to White Chicks, directly from Marlon Wayans? That’s exciting! I would have known about it first if I had subscribed to Cenat’s Twitch and participated in Mafiathon 3. Instead, I found out through TMZ posting a clip from the stream. 

But that’s just one example. Already, the stream has been running for eight days. In that time, Kim Kardashian, Mariah Carey, Ray J (not with Kim Kardashian), Law Roach, Keke Palmer, The Jonas Brothers and countless other celebrities have made appearances. As we’re only eight days in, there are going to be even more appearances from across every spectrum of fame. Anyone with something to promote is liable to show up to benefit from Cenat’s massive and hyper-engaged fanbase. 

While Twitch is very far from my general areas of interest, Cenat has become bigger than the part of the internet he’s established total dominance over. He’s got pop stars, film stars and music stars coming to appear on his streams, meaning those of us who have been resistant to learning more about live streaming might have no choice but to catch up. 

Personally, I’ll do anything to get more of the oral history of White Chicks.