Earlier this year, a cowboy hat-toting bipedal robot dubbed “Jake the Rizzbot” burst onto the scene, baffling residents in Austin, Texas, with its flashy cowboy hat, chain necklace — and strong preference for gen alpha slang.
Just weeks later, the four-foot-tall Unitree G1 robot moved to California and seemingly came out as gay, appearing on the streets of West Hollywood decked out in gaudy rainbow attire.
Now, Jake the Rizzbot has run into trouble. As Complex reports, the robot was allegedly assaulted and permanently damaged by streamer Darren Jason Watkins Jr., better known online under the moniker IShowSpeed.
The robot’s developer, Social Robotics, has now filed a lawsuit against Watkins Jr. for a whopping $1 million in monetary relief. According to the complaint, Watkins Jr. became “angry and agitated” and eventually “intentionally assaulted” the robot.
Footage circulating online shows the streamer getting into a verbal altercation with the robot, before sucker-punching it, putting it into a chokehold, and shoving it onto a sofa in anger.
“You think I’m playing, bro?” Watkins Jr. shouts in the clip.
It’s a baffling situation, especially considering the streamer was presumably acting out a fit of anger to gain notoriety and attract more viewers. We’re struggling to believe that Watkins Jr. was actually angry at the robot.
Yet the streamer’s theatrics appear to have gone too far, regardless of his intentions. According to the lawsuit, Rizzbot turned out to be a total loss, forcing its owner to cancel a co-hosting opportunity with Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson and an appearance on the NFL Today Show on CBS, per Complex.
“This is no doubt a monumental setback for the RizzBot in terms of viral momentum and financial gain from the exposure,” the lawsuit reads. “Being in a MrBeast production is akin to being in a Super Bowl commercial.”
TechCrunch obtained a police report filed by the Austin Police Department, with an officer who was called to the scene noting that Rizzbot was damaged without the owner’s “implied consent.”
Making legal proceedings even stranger is the fact that Watkins Jr. livestreamed the entire altercation.
“This was an event that was livestreamed so there’s not a ton of discrepancy as to the facts,” Social Robotics’ lawyer Joel Levine told TechCrunch. “What we’re looking for is some accountability.”
The robot lamented to TechCrunch that it had to get a “whole new body” since the streamer “wrecked” its last one.
“Everything’s brand new except my Nike kicks and cowboy hat,” the robot added. “Now I’m back online, and I feel like I’ve mastered the rizz game, and next I’ll be working on complex movements with my legs, like twerking — hopefully you’ll see my gyrating hips on some new TV appearances shortly — stay tuned, fam.”
More on Rizzbot: Jake the Rizzbot Moves to California, Comes Out as Gay