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He’s the leader of the bunch, you know him well.
Over the Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend, a charity stream of Donkey Kong 64 raised over $347,000 and included a notable guest appearance from New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The stream was held by English YouTube personality Hbomberguy (Harry Brewis) to raise funds for Mermaids, a British charity that supports gender diverse and transgender youth in the UK. Though his initial goal was to raise $500 during the stream, he ultimately raised over $347,000 as evidenced by the final tally of his twitch stream.
Brewis announced the stream on YouTube on January 14, saying he chose to stream Donkey Kong 64 because he never beat the game as a kid, even after playing a single save file for nearly 60 hours. As to why Brewis picked Mermaids, he said ”I chose to support this charity because, as a person living in Britain, I find the media discussion surrounding [trans issues] in my country, especially in its tabloids, to be woefully misinformed.”
Brewis’ impetus for starting the stream came after Irish comedian Graham Linehan (known for co-creating The IT Crowd, Black Books and Father Ted) criticized the British National Lottery for issuing funds to Mermaids. With this grant going under review as a result of Linehan using the website Mumsnet to flood the British National Lottery with concerned emails over the grant, Brewis took it upon himself to try to raise his own funds for the organization.
He began the Donkey Kong 64 Charity Nightmare for Mermaids stream on Twitch on January 18. Aiming to get a 101% completion rating in Donkey Kong 64, the stream lasted for over 50 hours. It ultimately gained attention from Mermaids CEO Susie Green, who participated in a group call that included Doom co-creator John Romero, actress Mara Wilson, trans activist Chelsea Manning and, incredibly, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Ocasio-Cortez’s involvement with the stream came about after she tweeted out her support for the event. This followed screenwriter Aaron Sorkin appearing on CNN criticizing some of the younger, newly elected US representatives for focusing on issues like transgender bathrooms, saying “It’s not just about transgender bathrooms — that’s a Republican talking point they’re trying to distract you with.”
While on the stream, Ocasio-Cortez discussed her limited experience with video games, saying “Donkey Kong 64 is outside of my wheelhouse. I never owned an N64, though I do think it’s probably the best system out of all of them. I used to go to my cousin’s house all the time, and she had Super Mario 64, Pokemon Snap, and probably a handful of other things, and that’s probably all I know how to play.”
Of course, Ocasio-Cortez also discussed the trans issues that beget the stream, saying “Trans rights are civil rights are human rights… when we say ‘equal rights for all’ we mean equal rights for all: no asterisks, exceptions, fine print, nothing.”
For more video game fundraising stories, check out how Games Done Quick raised over $2.39 million for Prevent Cancer Foundation.
Colin Stevens is a news writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.