Queer furry SonicFox raises thousands for LGBT youth by playing Mortal Kombat for 72 hours
Mortal Kombat pro Sonic Fox recently raised $22,000 for LGBT+ charities
Queer black furry e-sports champion SonicFox has raised $22,000 for LGBT+ youth with a 72-hour Mortal Kombat livestream.
The five-time Evolution Championship Series champion, real name Dominique McLean, staged a three-day Twitch livestream to raise funds for charity.
The fighting game pro was raising money for The Trevor Project, which advocates for LGBT+ young people and runs a confidential suicide hotline for LGBTQ youth.
SonicFox spent three days playing Mortal Kombat for LGBT+ young people.
Fans donated more than $22,000 over the course of the three-day livestream, as he played through the story modes of Mortal Kombat 9, 10 and 11, as well as Injustice 1 and 2.
Key donation thresholds saw SonicFox writing messages like “trans rights” on his chest, before shaving his moustache after smashing the $20,000 donations barrier.
SonicFox shaved his moustache after raising $20,000 for charity
Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon was among special guests to dial in to the live stream, though efforts to recruit ‘Old Town Road’ singer Lil Nas X were less successful.
The streaming marathon also crossed over with a separate charity livestream from YouTuber star PhilisophyTube, who raised over $120,000 for UK suicide hotline Samaritans by reading the complete works of Shakespeare over several days. SonicFox voiced Hector in Troilus and Cressida.
Trevor Project thanks ‘role model’ for LGBT+ youth.
After concluding his three-day stream, SonicFox tweeted: “We did it everybody! Together, we raised 22,150$ for the Trevor Project in 72 Hours.
“This will be a very special moment in my life for years to come, and I hope to do things like this more often.
“Thank you all for this very magical moment. TRANS RIGHTS!!!!”
The Trevor Project said: “Thank you so much for supporting our life-saving work and being a role model for LGBTQ youth in the gaming community! ❤️????”
SonicFox said that his stream was partly inspired by Harry Brewis (Hbomberguy), a YouTuber who raised a total of $347,000 for transgender children’s charity Mermaids by playing Donkey Kong 64 for three days straight.
The Donkey Kong stream was inspired when Mermaids had part of its lottery funding suspended after a campaign from anti-trans activists. The funding was subsequently restored.
Brewis explained at the time: “I chose to support [Mermaids] because as a person living in Britain, I find the media discussion around this issue to be woefully misinformed, and I’d like to do my bit to help support the people who do the hard work of contributing to people’s thinking on an issue.”
