Joshua Block, a social media personality and streamer, visited the University Wednesday, drawing a large crowd to the Main Quad. Block has more than 4 million followers on TikTok and 500,000 followers on Instagram, and he uses the handle @worldoftshirts.
On his social media accounts, Block posts videos of his binge drinking, traveling and day-to-day activities. He’s attracted a large social media audience for his daily posts, as well as controversies and incidents involving alcohol and physical disputes.
Last month at the University of California, Berkeley, Block got into a physical altercation and is alleged to have bitten the hand of a promoter’s assistant. The Daily Californian reported the altercation initially began after Block repeated several times that he hates immigrants.
Block announced his visit to the University last night via social media and appeared Wednesday at the Main Quad near Anniversary Plaza around 2 p.m. He was live-streaming to thousands on the Parti platform. He encouraged his audience to join him, and dozens of students soon arrived.
With a Twisted Tea in hand — which he later dropped — Block took photos with people who came to see him. Block was joined by a small entourage, including his manager Tony Bame and a videographer who was streaming the footage to Parti.
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Multiple people shouted “put the fries in the bag,” a viral phrase defined by the Wiktionary as “Used to tell someone to get a job or get a ‘real job.’” The entry also notes the phrase is “often told to influencers.”
Others in the crowd said people should “be nice to Josh.” Many other attendees filmed Block with their phones.
Some content creators, including multiple Instagram meme pages with hundreds of thousands or millions of followers, and Pyrocynical, a YouTuber with nearly 5 million subscribers, have expressed concern for Block’s well-being. They fear his alcohol use is detrimental.
Still, on Mathews Avenue Wednesday, a group that referred to themselves as “brothers of ZBT” — the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity — gifted Block a 12-pack of Monster Energy Hard Tea. Some crowd members cheered on the gesture. Some others gave Block more Twisted Teas.
At around 2:20 p.m., Block got into a tinted truck with his entourage and left the area. On his stream, he was seen at the Acacia fraternity house, where he posted a photo of a formal invitation to join the fraternity offered to him by the Acacia brothers.
