Hasan Piker Says ‘DebateLords’ Livestream Event Went ‘Spectacularly Well’ Despite Being ‘Very Nervous’

DebateLords may be over, but the fundraising efforts aren’t done yet.

After securing almost $50,000 for charities and over 600,000 views on Twitch, Hasan “HasanAbi” Piker’s first-ever, in-person event in front of a live audience was a huge success for the popular yapper. In fact, in the political commentator’s own words, the whole production went “fantastic.” And I agree, both as an attendee and as a reporter. The audience was active, the chat was chatting, and the guests were giving. It was also incredibly hilarious, with some insane answers to some insane questions. Everyone was dying laughing, including me.

As TwitchCon wraps up in sunny San Diego, California, Complex managed to get one more interview with Piker before he dipped to roam the event space. In this latest chat, Piker talks about DebateLords, the charities he raised funds for and why, the epic pies-to-the-face finale, and his pick for the biggest livestreamer right now.

(This interview has been edited for clarity.)

Complex: How are you doing today?

Hasan Piker: [munch] Fantastic. I'm starving, so I apologize for eating during the duration.

Complex: What’re you eating?

HP: This is like a spinach and cheese…

Complex: Like an empanada.

HP: Yeah, I think it's a jalapeño cheese empanada. You want one?

Complex: Yes, thank you!

HP: It's not good. I mean, it is what it is, right?

Complex: [munch] Little mid, but sustenance, right?

HP: Yeah, and right now, I’ll take whatever I can get.

Complex: Very that. So, we had recently talked leading up to DebateLords, and you gave me some really good quotes. You've abused your power, which I love. What'd you think of the whole production?

HP: It went, in my opinion, spectacularly well. I was very nervous in the beginning because I had participated in live events before as simply a guest host and the obligations there, the lift that you have in that situation is very different than having this be your media, your product. So that sense of responsibility is much greater in that. And I was a little bit worried about it, especially because I had not ever really done an event like this before.

I mean, I've had massive audiences. I’ve offered real time coverage of things that are breaking that are world-changing events. But this was truly a unique experience for me, and I was very fortunate to be able to have an incredible team of people surrounding me and wonderful friends that are significantly better than me on this sort of thing, live events and hosting them. So, I think it went fantastic.

Complex: I agree. I definitely had a blast, and it looked like everyone up on stage had a blast. It looked like you were enjoying yourself, and it looked like the audience was really getting into it as well. It was a real-deal thing.

HP: It was like a real TV show. It was a real production.

Complex: Speaking of your friends up on stage, who do you think did the best?

HP: I think out of everyone that participated in terms of my expectations of people, I would say that the person that did the best was probably Jasontheween. He outperformed my expectations by quite a wide margin. I did not really think that he would be able to show up and be so funny on the spot, or even really string sentences together. So that was shocking. But he killed it.

Complex: He had some real quotables. What’d he say? “Sometimes when life gives you lemons, you gotta squeeze them.”

HP: He [also] said, “At the end of the day, it is night.”

Complex: Bars. And also that song about eating french fries with ketchup.

HP: So that was a last-second swap out actually because Ludwig was supposed to be doing that segment against bbno$.

Complex: Boy showed up super late.

HP: Yeah, he did. It is what it is. But the thing is, with Jasontheween, I knew that that was not just Jasontheween, but that is Jasontheween number one artist on Spotify and Vietnam for “Deb Gai.” So, I asked him right before that segment, “Would you be down to slow jam on an autotune segment where you freestyle your fast food order?” And he was locked in. He was ready to go. And it really showed. He killed it.

Complex: Yeah, he understood the assignment. What was your favorite topic or favorite answer? And if Jasontheween did the best, who gave the best response?

HP: I mean, I don't think he gave the best answers. I think he just outperformed my expectations, which were low, to be fair. As far as best answers, I think Carolinekwan did a fantastic job overall. She was performing as a Hillary Clinton type, much like Cyr decided in the last second to be a lobbyist for Big Corn, portraying himself as a Kenneth Copeland type. These are all theater kids. They were all playing a different role in that regard.

But I think Carolinekwan had some really powerful moments: when she said, we're going to shatter the glass ceiling, or that I'm a woman. That got a big applause break.

Complex: Yeah, and the Mother Earth line was a great answer.

HP: Yeah. Fantastic stuff overall.

Complex: Love it. So you raised about $50,000, right? I know that when we talked, you said Doctors Without Borders was the charity you were donating to. Is that still one of them?

HP: That was the charity that I chose, but [we were] fundraising for Doctors Without Borders, Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, No Kid Hungry, and Make-A-Wish America. Those were the charities.

Complex: You partner with Doctors Without Borders quite frequently. Is that a favorite charity or just old reliable or is there something specific about their mission statement?

HP: The reason why I chose Doctors Without Borders is because I cover a lot of the ongoing atrocities in the Middle East, and of course, Doctors Without Borders is in operation there. So I think it's a very solid charity that is accepted widely by Western powers. If I don't want to ruffle any feathers in terms of what kind of charity I want to work with, I think that that is probably one of the best charities to work with.

I'll tell you this much. I have had, not to name any names or any brands, but when you are directly fundraising for Palestinian Children's Relief Fund or any kind of direct Palestinian charity, some brands or larger companies will take issue with that, which is shocking, but I guess not so shocking, really. [Either way,] I think that Doctors Without Borders is a way to overcome that issue, and it's a good cause anyway. And it's going to go there regardless.

Complex: Right. And Doctors Without Borders definitely needs those funds. So, I think that that's really important and impactful. Yeah, good sh*t there. I think maybe just a couple more questions for you, since I don't want to take up too much of your time. We have to talk about the final moment of DebateLords. The pie.

HP: Yeah, I got creampied pretty hard.

Complex: Several times.

HP: I did. Pumped. It was a real bukkake situation. It was messed up. I had my archive Yohji Yamamoto pants that I had thrifted in Japan, and those are not easy pieces to find. And everyone else was already wearing, not their real clothes, They were wearing whatever wardrobe gave them. So, they had an air of carelessness in the way that they were chucking those things; there's nothing that could happen to their favorite pieces. And they were like, we're going to mess that sh*t up.

So, I brought my own wardrobe. Luckily, I didn't have my jacket on at least, so I had to expeditiously send [those pants] to the dry cleaners. Had to clean all my jewelry too. It was crazy. I was so sticky after that, but I've been pied before.

Complex: So, you’re used to this, getting creamed?

HP: Yeah, but this was above and beyond. This was the worst pieing I've ever experienced. When I tell you that I had a hard time moving because of how sticky I was, I’m not even kidding. My arms were stuck.

Complex: Literally like a robot trying to walk. Did you even get to taste the cream?

HP: I think it was just cream.

Complex: I think this is my last question for you: Who's the biggest streamer right now other than HasanAbi?

HP: I have to say IShowSpeed. Speed is f**king killing it. I mean, he had an Indonesia stream that had one million live concurrent viewers. He's doing a phenomenal job. I think he is America's greatest cultural ambassador. He's like zoomer Anthony Bourdain. There's a lot of high praise for him. I really, really appreciate all the things that he's been doing. I appreciate his own personal journey, his own development, and I hope he continues being a empathetic and kind person. I really respect that.

From a very early age, he's been famous for his whole life at this point almost. And he's had an insane amount of attention since he was like 14, 15 years old, which is crazy. I don't know what that does to your development, but in his case, it seemingly has improved his outlook on the world. He’s such a massive content creator that is so impactful and so famous among gen alpha and gen Z. he’s openly pro-Palestinian, not transphobic as far as I have seen. Those are things that I consider to be unfortunately not very commonplace in media. And so when I see that, I don't take it for granted. I always cherish that. But beyond that, he is a very entertaining figure.

And what was it? Who was that famous director that was like, the real cinema is now being done by Kai Cenat and IShowSpeed? He's right.

Complex: Right, was that Martin Scorsese?

HP: No, no, it wasn't Martin Scorsese. Harmony Korine.

Complex: Oh, yeah, that’s right. Duh. Okay, last-last question: What's today's fit?

Image via Complex (Screenshot, HasanAbi)

HP: I’m wearing my Rick Owens x Dr. Martens collab. These were retail. Much better looking in my opinion than anything Rick Owens has put out in terms of shoes, and they were $300. So, that's crazy.

Complex: That’s a steal.

HP: Yeah! I got the J.W. Anderson parachute pants on. I love these. I wear these all the time. People love making fun of me for 'em. But this is the only pocket that's big enough to fit my Steam Deck in when I travel.

Complex: No, they're a good shape, a good color, and a good fit.

HP: And then up top, I have just my own merch. It says “Turmoil Distribution.” It's one of the last runs that we did for Ideologie, and that's it.

Complex: Sick. I love it. Well, where can people find you? I mean, duh, obviously Twitch, right?

HP: Yeah, Twitch.tv/hasanabi. On Twitter, my name is hasanthehun, and everywhere else, it's hasandpiker.

Complex: Well, Hasan HasanAbi Piker, thank you so much for making the time to chat with me.

HP: Thank you for talking to me.