A British gamer has raised more than £250,000 for transgender youth charity Mermaids by playing Nintendo 64 game Donkey Kong live for more than two days.
Harris Brewis, known on YouTube and Twitch as Hbomberguy, aimed to complete the game live on streaming site Twitch and raise money at the same time, drawing celebrity appearances and high-profile endorsements over the 57 hours and 48 minutes it was active.
The stream raised over $50,000 (around £38,000) in its first day, and quickly became wildly popular on the website.
In a YouTube video announcing the stream, Brewis explained that he had never beaten Donkey Kong 64 as a child, a hurdle he pledged to overcome.
Brewis said in the video: “The goal is to beat Donkey Kong 64 100%. That means doing everything.
“I chose to support [Mermaids] because as a person living in Britain, I find the media discussion surrounding this issue in my country, especially in its tabloids, 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 important issue.”
Susie Green, CEO of Mermaids UK, said: “Mermaids wants every child to feel loved and supported whatever the circumstances. On 18 January, Harris started a game of Donkey Kong, with the proceeds going to Mermaids, expecting to raise a couple of thousand pounds. Mermaids became aware of this on the morning of the 19th, as he hit $26,000, and the response around the world was beginning to grow. Final count is over $340,000.
“The money raised is astonishing, however the love and support that has been generated by this wonderful human being is the real win, as transgender children and young people have seen this and know that they are not alone. Transgender people have faced unprecedented hostility over the last few years, it is a welcome change to see the narrative reversed.
“We were completely shocked and awed to see a personal endorsement by Alexandria Ocasio Cortez followed by her coming online to talk to Harris, and global celebrities such as Cher getting behind the stream. We are still stunned and processing all of this, but we think it is safe to say that there has never been a more positive endorsement of trans rights.”
The Twitch stream featured guests including US congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez, writer Owen Jones, and trans activists Chelsea Manning and Lily Madigan.
During the stream, Osasio-Cortez said: “What I think we have to reassert is that when we say equal rights for all, we mean equal rights for all, no asterisks, exceptions, fine print, nothing.”
Mermaids, formed in 1995, was designated funding by the British National Lottery, but the funding was withheld and put under review after criticism by Irish comedy writer Graham Linehan.
This inspired Brewis to create the stream in support of the charity and wider transgender community.