Daniel M. Keem (born 1982), known online as Keemstar, is an American YouTuber, podcaster, and streamer who is mainly known for being the host of the Internet popular culture news show DramaAlert.
Keem was born in 1982, in Buffalo, New York.
He has one brother and one sister.
He is of predominantly Italian and Greek descent.
2009
Keem's first appearance on YouTube was in a Halo 3 YouTube video from January 2009, where he was recorded trash talking through the online multiplayer voice chat.
2010
In July 2010, Keem became the most subscribed person on blogTV.
In November 2010, Keem was swatted, the caller claimed to be a deaf person being held hostage at his address.
In 2010, during an argument with a moderator named Alex on the website BattleCam.com, Keem encouraged his viewers to type "Alex is a stupid nigger" in the stream's chat; he later apologized for saying the word.
Keem also referred to Alex as a, "all fucking righteous fucking nigger" and continued disparaging Alex by using the slur and claiming, "Alex, is doing this shit, you fucking nigger" in reference to Alex supposedly "starting" Keem's video when viewers would have thought that Keem was starting his own video.
2011
In February 2011, Keem promoted FortressCraft, a game coming to Xbox Live.
Keem contacted the Indie developer and made a deal with them, taking part-ownership of the game.
It went on to sell 2 million copies.
In July 2011, Keem held a tournament alongside Alki David called the 'Billionaire's Challenge' in which contestants competed for prizes.
During production of a second Billionaire’s Challenge, David stated an assisted suicide would be shown, which caused controversy and led to some YouTubers cancelling their participation.
David later clarified it was a joke, while the second show went ahead.
2012
In September 2012, Keem began using the hashtag #DramaAlert on Twitter.
In June 2012, Keem and Call of Duty YouTuber ONLYUSEmeBLADE created the Bad Kid Show podcast.
In July 2012, Keem started the campaign #Dildos4Africa.
His intention was to buy $75,000 worth of dildos to send them to "Africa" in an attempt to reduce "overpopulation".
2014
In June 2014, after numerous terminations, he registered his current channel DramaAlert.
Keem often offers his own opinions on subjects he reports on.
2016
In January 2016, Keem posted a tweet directed at TotalBiscuit, a YouTuber who was diagnosed with terminal cancer, saying that he could not wait to report on his death.
Keem later apologized for the tweet.
In May 2016, YouTuber IDubbbz released a video exposé on YouTube about Keem.
In the video, he accused Keem of threatening big YouTubers with negative coverage and promoting small channels or accusing them of hiding something.
IDubbbz called Keem a "very rash decision maker" and showed clips of Keem saying what IDubbbz deemed to be regrettable.
In response, Keem called the video "entertaining" and denied wanting to attack other YouTubers, saying he has "no problem booking guests or landing exclusive interviews".
He also apologized for the comments and incidents he caused, but sarcastically justified saying "nigger" by using a genealogical DNA test to prove he was nine percent black.
In 2016, Keem falsely accused RuneScape Twitch streamer Tony Winchester—known as RSGloryandGold—of being a pedophile, confusing him with John Phillips, a convicted sex offender who used RuneScape to attract children for sex.
Keemstar was later proven to be incorrect as Winchester proved his innocence, causing Keem to apologize, fire one of his editors, offer Winchester $1000 (which was refused), and delete his videos related to the matter.
Winchester later forgave Keem.
2018
In 2018, Keem founded "Fortnite Friday", an online Fortnite tournament that featured various content creators, streamers, and professional players competing against each other every Friday.
TotalBiscuit died in May 2018.
2019
In 2019, Keem created a spinoff to "Fortnite Friday" called "Minecraft Monday".
On October 25, 2021, Keem announced on Twitter his plan to retire from YouTube on March 8, 2022, the day of his 40th birthday and after 14 years of content creation.
In his announcement video released one day later titled "Retired," he expressed his dissatisfaction with making videos on the platform, citing the effects of cancel culture along with changes to YouTube's algorithm and the website's community as factors for his decision.
On November 12, 2021, Keem hired a new host, Willy Mac, and also rehired a former host, TyBlue.
However, on February 12, 2022, Keem announced that he had changed his mind and would not retire from DramaAlert, citing a lack of confidence in any permanent replacement and a new 3-year sponsorship deal struck with sports betting company MyBookie.
In January 2019, YouTuber Jake Paul accused Keem of body shaming Paul's then-girlfriend, Erika Costell, after Keem made a tweet comparing her body to Eugenia Cooney, a YouTuber with an eating disorder.
In April 2021, in response to Jake Paul facing sexual assault allegations from TikTok user Justine Paradise, Keem posted on Twitter that there is no way to sexually assault someone orally, stating the victim had to choose to "open her mouth" as well as quoting "Is there really no way to get away? I just really don't believe this story at all."