Trinity College’s elite debating society honoured an online troll who makes jokes about rape, said America deserved 9/11 and has had to deny that he electric shocked his own dog… So why are Kneecap pals with him?
Trinity College Dublin's University Philosophical Society ("the Phil") has named US Twitch streamer Hasan Piker an honorary patron, placing him alongside past honourees including Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Desmond Tutu, Joe Biden and Martin Scorsese. The decision has drawn criticism because of a string of controversial remarks Piker has made, including that America "deserved" the 9/11 attacks, praise for Mao Zedong, and comments suggesting wealthy date-rapists be sent to elite college campuses rather than prison, all of which critics say were public knowledge before students voted to honour him.
Piker, a Turkish-American political commentator, has also faced criticism for remarks minimising sexual violence during Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel and a 2024 letter from US congressman Ritchie Torres urging Twitch and Amazon to take action against him. He later called his 9/11 comments "inappropriate" while defending his broader point about US foreign policy. More recently, Piker has moved into US electoral politics, backing Zohran Mamdani's successful New York mayoral bid and Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, though Mamdani publicly distanced himself from the 9/11 remarks and Piker was barred from the VIP section on the night of Mamdani's election win.
- Trinity College's Phil society made streamer Hasan Piker an honorary patron
- Piker has made controversial remarks on 9/11, rape and Mao Zedong
- Move criticised given his past comments were already public knowledge