US content creator Johnny Somali, who kissed the “comfort women” statue in Seoul, has had his YouTube account deleted

The YouTube channel of a US content creator who faced backlash for kissing a statue symbolizing victims of Japanese sex slavery during the war in Korea was deleted on Monday.

“I am appealing the suspension of my channel, which I believe was a mistake,” Johnny Somali, whose real name is Ramsey Khalid Ismael, said on the social media platform X the same day.

“My account was recently hacked, resulting in unauthorized access and the livestreaming of inappropriate content.”

Ishmael's YouTube channel was banned after he began streaming pornography, although the exact timing of the explicit stream is unknown.

He was publicly criticized for spreading his offensive behavior during his visit to Korea.

Screenshot of Johnny Somali's video, uploaded on October 9th. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

On October 9, he uploaded a video of himself kissing the Peace Statue in Itaewon, Yongsan District in central Seoul and performing a lewd dance in front of the monument.

The statue represents the tens of thousands of young women who were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during Japan's colonial rule of Korea from 1910 to 1945. These victims of wartime sexual slavery are euphemistically referred to as “comfort women.”

Ishmael mentioned the statue again in a livestream on October 15, saying: “Let’s just get into it [expletive] Comfort woman statue.” He went on to say he would “put some baby oil on it” and suggested they perform a sexual act. In the same stream, he interviewed people around Kyung Hee University in Dongdaemun District in eastern Seoul and showed them the flag of Imperial Japan.

Screenshot of Johnny Somali's video uploaded on Saturday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

On Thursday, a man suddenly approached Ishmael and his companion named Jino and punched the streamer in the face.

The man then grabbed Ismael's smartphone, threw it far away and left the crime scene. Ishmael and Jino shouted profanities at the attacker as they briefly followed him, but he escaped.

Later in the broadcast, Ishmael appeared with a bandage over his right eye.

The identity and motive of the man who beat Ishmael remains unknown. The video has since spread across online communities, with netizens reacting with comments such as “A hero has emerged,” “Much appreciated,” “Captain Korea,” and “He put a cocky YouTuber in his place.”

Ismael was later involved in another altercation on Sunday when he visited a Korean acquaintance's apartment while streaming.

Mugshot of Yoo Heon-jong and a picture of him posing with a rifle next to Nazi symbols [SMITH COUNTY JUDICIAL RECORDS/SCREEN CAPTURE]

The acquaintance, identified as Yoo Heon-jong, was previously sentenced to 97 months in prison in the United States after being charged with firearms violations in 2019. Yoo is known in US online communities as the “Texas Asian Nazi”.

Afterward, Yoo's residence was surrounded by Korean YouTubers who had gathered to confront Ishmael. During an argument with the surrounding YouTubers, a man got out and kicked Ishmael.

Ismael fled the scene while Yoo pulled out a tactical baton to fight back. Yoo hit the man's companion and angered him into taking the staff away and arresting Yoo. The police then arrived to defuse the situation.

The current whereabouts of Ishmael and his companions are unknown.

On October 17, Ismael uploaded a video of himself pouring instant noodles onto a supermarket table after a store employee stopped him from drinking alcohol. Other antics included playing explicit content on the subway or playing North Korean music loudly on buses.

During his visit to Japan last year, Ismael was arrested by Japanese police after committing a series of escapades, including shouting “Fukushima” at construction workers and playing music with lyrics containing the words “atomic bomb” in public.

Ishmael had about 20,000 YouTube subscribers as of Sunday before his suspension.

BY KIM MIN YOUNG [[email protected]]