Hasan Piker speaks to UT Austin students after backlash from Texas lawmakers
After much scrutiny, controversial Twitch streamer Hasan Piker spoke to students at the University of Texas in Austin. Sporting a Longhorn orange tie and pin, Piker began the stream in his hotel room and continued it backstage at UT Austin before he finally took the stage.
On Sunday, the University Democrats said they were forced to "return tickets to thousands of students," claiming that UT Austin refused to give them a larger space and an off-campus venue decided it would not host the event after "internal discussions."
The student group declared it would not cancel the event despite outside pressure to do so.
Piker was welcomed into the event Wednesday evening with loud cheers and applause. The venue looked almost entirely filled. He opened his speech with "Hook 'Em Horns," garnering another wave of cheers. The streamer went on to thank the students for attending the event despite the backlash it received.
"There was supposed to be 3,000 people here today. Three thousand. It's a real testament to how much progress can be made in even a state like Texas that the people in the national Democratic Party have left behind," Piker told the crowd.
"That's why I wanted to come here today, not just because of the pushback, not in spite of the pushback, but because I know for a fact that there are people who want their voices to be heard."
At the top of his speech, Piker addressed allegations he hates the U.S., saying, "I always tell people that if I hated America, I'd be a Republican." He went on to accuse President Donald Trump of "destroying" the country.
In his remarks, Piker focused much of his ire on Republicans, Trump, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Israel.
The event was hosted by the University Democrats, a student group at UT Austin, and it drew backlash soon after it was announced. Ahead of the event, Texas lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, including Gov. Greg Abbott, Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Henry Cuellar condemned Piker's appearance in the Lone Star State.
And Piker condemned all of them at the beginning of his remarks at the university.
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Cuellar raised concerns on X about Jewish students at UT Austin being made to feel unsafe due to Piker's presence.
The Twitch streamer approached their criticism by speaking about the First Amendment and the importance of freedom of speech. However, he argued that those on the left are not given the same freedom as their ideological counterparts on the right.
Additionally, Andrew Mahaleris, press secretary for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, also chimed in, telling Jewish News Syndicate (JNS), "Terrorist sympathizers have no place in Texas."
In a statement provided to Fox News Digital Sept. 16, Cruz said the event was a statement about the status of the Democratic Party.
"Hasan Piker is an America-hating Marxist who has said that America deserved 9/11 and celebrates political violence against Republicans," Cruz's statement said.
"Americans are entitled to free speech, but it is incumbent upon good people to condemn Piker's incitement. Instead, some Democrats are bringing him to college campuses, while almost all other Democrats are conspicuously silent or worse. It says everything about the state of their party."
In his criticism of the Texas lawmakers, Piker spoke about the First Amendment, claiming that those on the right are often given more freedom than those on the left.
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"I want to talk about the hypocrisy of free speech," Piker said. "It seems to only go in one direction, right? You can't have an opinion that's outside of the permission structure, and the permission structure year over year seems to swing wide in the right direction."
Despite the bipartisan backlash, the event at UT Austin was relatively smooth and proceeded without any major disruptions. After his speech wrapped, Piker thanked the audience on his livestream and admitted that while he was apprehensive about being in Texas, the turnout proved the demand for progressive voices even in a red state.