AustinShow
AustinShow (born November 29, 1994), formerly known as RajjPatel, is an American Twitch streamer. He is known for hosting various talk and dating shows, including "Love or Host."[1]
AustinShow | |
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Austin at TwitchCon 2018 | |
Personal information | |
Born | Central Oregon U.S. | November 29, 1994
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Streamer |
Twitch information | |
Channel | |
Years active | 2013–present |
Genre | Talk show |
Followers | 1.2 million |
Total views | 36.2 million |
Follower and view counts updated as of January 31, 2021. |
Career
Austin began streaming Runescape in 2013. He went by the name "RajjPatel", a name that was coined by himself and his childhood friends, many of which were of Indian descent. He also spoke in a faux Indian accent.[2] Austin would later begin hosting various talk and dating shows on his stream. He created "The Rajjchelor," a dating show inspired by The Bachelor, and the "Rajj Royale", a debate show, both of which are presented in an elimination type format.[3] Notable guests that have appeared on the shows include James Charles, Pokimane, Hasan Piker, and Mia Malkova.[4][2]
Due to the live, unscripted nature of Austin's broadcasts, a number of controversial incidents have occurred during the shows. In March 2018, a streamer by the name of "Aqualadora" admitted to intentionally killing a dog after Austin asked her to reveal the worst thing she had ever done.[5] In March 2020, Twitch banned streamer "Kaceytron" after she made insensitive comments regarding the COVID-19 pandemic during one of Austin's broadcasts.[6]
On June 12, 2020, Austin announced that he would be dropping the "RajjPatel" moniker entirely. The name had generated controversy in the past due to his portrayal of Indian people as a Caucasian man. In a statement released on Twitter, he stated "I don't want any part of my image, name, or persona to be inappropriately borrowed from a culture that I don't have the right to represent. So moving forward I will be going by my first name, Austin, and rebranding everything as a derivative of that."[7][8] His flagship shows "The Rajjchelor" and "Rajj Royale" were renamed to "Love or Host" and "The Royale", respectively.[3]
In July 2020, it was announced that Austin would be the host of a game show titled "Dare Package" on streaming media channel VENN.[9][10]
On July 11, 2020, Austin, along with rapper Wiz Khalifa hosted a charity stream for Rise Above the Disorder, a non-profit that focuses on providing mental health services to people of color.[11][12]
At GlitchCon 2020, a virtual version of TwitchCon, Austin hosted a talent show featuring celebrity judges Andy Milonakis and T-Pain.[13]
Personal life
Austin is openly gay. He came out via Twitter in April 2020, saying "My sexuality isn’t a meme. I identify as what I would say “mostly” gay but maybe bisexual because sometimes I find some women attractive."[14]
Austin describes himself as "fairly liberal."[2] He supported Joe Biden in the 2020 United States presidential election.[15]
Austin is a fan of the Minnesota Vikings.[2]
References
- Vaynshteyn, Gina. "The Twitch Game Show 'Love or Host' Is the Internet's Newest Obsession". Distractify.
- D'Anastasio, Cecilia (9 December 2019). "Inside Twitch's Wildest Talk Show". Kotaku.
- Grayson, Nathan (12 June 2020). "White Twitch Talk Show Host Finally Drops 'Rajj Patel' Moniker". Kotaku.
- Nambiar, Smitha (10 November 2020). "James Charles To Appear On 'Love Or Host' Twitch Show: How To Watch, Join". International Business Times.
- Alexander, Julia (28 February 2018). "Twitch streamer admits to killing dog, leading to doxxing attempts and threats (update)". Polygon.
- Tenbarge, Kat (18 March 2020). "A Twitch streamer was indefinitely banned after she said she'd spread the coronavirus if she could because 'the world would be a better place without old and poor people'". Insider.
- Byers, Preston (11 June 2020). "RajjPatel changes streamer name to Austin, says Rajj brand was "personally and professionally insensitive"". Dot Esports.
- Minnie, Wessel (11 June 2020). "RajjPatel changes name to Austin with explanation and apology". GINX.
- Goldsmith, Jill (23 July 2020). "VENN, New Live Network For Gamers, Sets Distribution Deals Including Twitter, Digital Platforms". Deadline.
- "Austin - Bio". VENN.
- Abraham, Samantha (16 June 2020). "'Pittsburgh Knights' announce livestream gaming series with Wiz Khalifa". WPXI 11 - Pittsburgh.
- Ruggieri, Melissa (6 July 2020). "Wiz Khalifa teams with Atlanta fundraising platform for livestream". Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- Carbonell, Matthew (20 November 2020). "Twitch: Everything You May Have Missed At Glitchcon". CBR.
- @AustinOnTwitter, . "My sexuality isn't a meme. I identify as what I would say "mostly" gay but maybe bisexual because sometimes I find some women attractive. I never have felt the need to do an elaborate coming out post because I thought people knew but there are some who don't. So there you go!". via Twitter.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- Zimbler, Ariella (9 November 2020). "Joe Biden Election Win Over Trump Celebrated By Top Twitch Streamers". ScreenRant.