In an era of ubiquitous digital capture, where moments are instantly immortalized and scrutinized by countless viewers, YouTube celebrity Jack Doherty has become the newest social media darling to attract controversy—a trajectory that has accelerated in light of a recent, stunning event. At just 20 years of age and boasting a staggering follower count of almost 15 million on YouTube, Doherty made a tremendous splash by car crashing his $200,000 McLaren, with the kind of coverage in places both online and off that one might expect for a more famous face.
On October 5th, the sparkled Miami skyline was the backdrop for unfolding events. As rain drizzled over the South Florida roads, Jack, eager to connect with his fans, made the ill-advised decision to live stream his drive. He wasn’t just attempting to work his way into the hearts of his fans; he was also showcasing the wheels he was behind, and even more dangerously, he was living out what is often an unspoken—because it is so obvious—delight of the social media age: streaming while driving (and, apparently, driving fast). Accompanied by his now disgraced cameraman, Michael, whose job took a dangerous turn, the high-speed narrative quickly descended into chaos. The now infamous phrase, “Oh no no no!” echoes across the internet.
Within minutes, the clip was back on X (formerly known as Twitter), drawing blistering attention after Jack’s brave confession that an accident had taken place. No one expected Jack’s follow-up. He was no more than 48 hours out from a major car wreck, and the situation was still quite raw. Yet, there Jack was, on the platform, looking okay for having just totaled a sleek, dark blue BMW convertible, a car that, ironically, Jack had debuted as a prop in a heist video about a month prior to this tragic turn. “I have not done a good job of serving you guys any content, and I’m sorry,” Jack says in the follow-up, somehow oblivious that we—the jury of public opinion—are now even more divided than before on the question of what precisely constitutes good and right behavior for someone’s whose life has just been flipped upside down.
Jack, unhurt in the crash, was not the one to observe in the moments after the car had crunched and the air had filled with the acrid scent of smoke and burnt rubber. Michael was the one directing the camera in the post-impact scene. Helplessly, I must confess, I see the moment that gets captured as almost more important than the obvious near-miss to death that had just grazed Jack. Critics are saying that this twinning of the influencer moment with an almost nonsensical duo of the pre- and post-impact crash sequence is a way that Jack is “airing out” the near-tragedy to make it look pretty much perfectly viral and not in any way, shape, or form a safety hazard for a real-life alternative to helicopter parenting.
Hours later, in the unpersonal sterility of a hospital room, an undaunted Jack took to X once more. This time, he gave his audience a close-up look at the stitched-together evidence of Michael’s injuries. This was obviously another calculated move, and it kept audiences riveted. Some of Jack’s fans have rushed to his defense, lauding him for staying calm under pressure. They speak of an unfiltered reality that Jack seems compelled to share with his millions of fans. But others have used Jack’s actions to launch a larger conversation about reckless online behavior and the responsibility that comes with it.
The digital platform for the accident, Kick, reacted quickly and decisively. It was an immediate and clear message: The allegedly dangerous behavior depicted in the now-removed content was unacceptable. Kick’s parent company issued a statement that emphasized their complete and utter disavowal of illegal activity. In that statement, parent company Kick Labs even went so far as to insinuate that possibly illegal activity “not only puts creators and fans at risk, but also is a danger to the platform itself.”
Regardless of the pushback, Jack has held his tongue while steering through this clear public-disappointment moment, leaving talking-heads outlets waiting to hear from his side. As a moment in pop culture, this is one of those “famous for being famous” moments. Jack is cartoonishly, if not ironically, holding onto the revulsion of being in a fishbowl. But also, as the moment has drawn some withering comments toward him, he’s become a Rorschach test of the digital age. I mean, what does it say that Jack has commanded this much attention, for this ridiculous an outcome?
