YouTuber and Minecraft content creator Dream has finally responded to the #dreamwaswrong trend on Twitter, using his DreamWasTaken account to assert he disavows the behavior displayed by some of his fans.
Dream and his cohorts, including known creators like Tommyinnit and GeorgeNotFound, are incredibly popular on YouTube and beyond thanks to an infinitum of Dream Team videos and the Dream SMP server.
While that level of fame means possibility for mainstream collaboration with the likes of superstar TikTok influencer Addison Rae, it also comes with downsides. Notably, #dreamwaswrong began trending on Twitter as fans blamed Dream for encouraging his stans, some of whom are prone to producing inappropriate fan art involving minors.
As critics explain, Dream’s love for his fans supposedly equates to egging on the ways they express their fandom — thereby supporting the production of “CP.” In response, he explained: “I’ve said this before but don’t ship creators that are uncomfortable with it, and especially not minors. It’s disgusting to draw NSFW stuff about minors or anyone that hasn’t explicitly said it’s fine.”
I’ve said this before but don’t ship creators that are uncomfortable with it, and especially not minors. It’s disgusting to draw NSFW stuff about minors or anyone that hasn’t explicitly said it’s fine.
— dream (@dreamwastaken) January 22, 2021
After addressing the drama directly, by reaffirming that “NSFW stuff about minors” is distasteful, Dream continued on to explain why it’s unfair to misgeneralize his role in the production of such content.
In a follow-up tweet aimed at defending his support for his fans, the Minecraft YouTuber said, “With 16 million subscribers that’s 1 out of every 480 people IN THE WORLD that are subscribed. There’s bound to be thousands of terrible people, but there’s also bound to be millions of great ones. If you’re looking for hate or disgusting stuff, you’ll find it. Stop looking.”
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With 16 million subscribers that’s 1 out of every 480 people IN THE WORLD that are subscribed. There’s bound to be thousands of terrible people, but there’s also bound to be millions of great ones. If you’re looking for hate or disgusting stuff, you’ll find it. Stop looking
— dream (@dreamwastaken) January 22, 2021
As he shows, boasting 16 million subscribers on YouTube means that “out of every 480 people in the world,” at least one is a fan of Dream’s content. That is an enormous quantity of supporters, and it should not be surprising that there are “thousands of terrible people” within the millions of fans.
This sentiment appears to be echoed by his fans — as many have resurfaced earlier videos showing that the content creator has never specifically encouraged the creation of relationship fanfiction or “CP.”
#dreamwaswrong literally when has dream said cp is ok pic.twitter.com/H1pKiHMyVD
— frick 🎀 (@ATSUHlNAS) January 22, 2021
It remains unclear how satisfied people are with Dream’s response, but the overall sentiment appears to be positive. While it feels unreasonable to expect a creator to be wholly responsible for the actions of their audience, this incident does provide a cautionary tale.
Considering this “disgusting” group of Dream’s stans, the prevailing community critique remains: If you are an influencer, you have some obligation to directly and quickly curtail negative behavior by those you influence.
