Streamer Ryan “Northernlion” Letourneau has broken his silence regarding his longtime friend Dan Gheesling’s recent U.S. Army-sponsored Twitch streams, calling the content “unacceptable.” Gheesling, a former contestant on Big Brother and one-time Detroit Lions coach, participated in a three-day boot camp-style game show sponsored by the U.S. Army, which aired on his Twitch channel beginning September 16.
The sponsorship immediately drew condemnation from many corners of the Twitch community. Northernlion explained in a recent stream that his delay in addressing the situation was due to his 14-year friendship with Gheesling and a desire to allow his friend to speak on the matter first. "You can probably tell…I’m upset," Northernlion stated. "I think what it comes down to is that…the stream that he did with the U.S. Army is just unacceptable. It would be unacceptable if it was just sponsored by the Army, but steeped, head to toe, in the imagery, and making it look so awesome—It’s so far beyond the bounds of what is acceptable to me."
Gheesling eventually addressed the backlash, stating that it was "never [his] intention to upset anyone" but that he "had a job to do, and couldn’t breach the contract." This response was not well-received by viewers or, seemingly, by Northernlion.
"You probably didn’t have to read between the lines to know how I feel about the U.S. Army," Northernlion continued. "Of course I hate the U.S. Army; they’re threatening to take over my country! They’re actively at war overseas, and with their own citizens." He also commented on the peculiarity of the U.S. Army utilizing Twitch for marketing, likening the situation to an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, but emphasized the seriousness of it. "The whole thing is absurd. But also it’s serious—it’s very real. And you know it’s real, because this is where they’re doing the marketing."
Northernlion appeared visibly affected by the situation, drawing a parallel to the mental health impact he experienced after the cancellation of the Northernlion Supercruise event in April, which he had organized with Gheesling. "Taking that kind of heat fucked me up for a while. It took me a while to digest it—to return to a baseline… a different version of myself, to be honest…And I came out of it realizing that the community is made of real people, and I don’t wanna do any sort of sponsorship that’s even a few percent over the line," he explained. He added that such sponsorships can make a community feel unsafe.
Despite the fallout, Northernlion concluded by expressing hope that Gheesling would ultimately do the right thing. "Even if [Dan] thinks it’s over for him, I still think there’s a place to do the right thing," he said. "I hope that he can understand that he’s an adult and he can make his own decisions…I really think, for some people, it would make a difference.”