YouTuber Harry Bromis, aka hbomberguy, has raised $340,000 for British charity Mermaids, which supports gender-diverse and trans children by playing Donkey Kong 64, reported Gay Star News.
Bromis announced on YouTube on January 14 that he would be pulling an all-nighter to play the video game and stream it on Twitch to raise money for the organization, which he started January 18.
Britain’s national lottery awarded £500,000 to Mermaids, who planned to use the money to open 45 contact groups across the country where people accessing Mermaids’ services could catch up.
However, anti-trans comedian and writer Graham Linehan called for the donation to be revoked, saying, “I was a bit knocked back today when I saw the story about Mermiads being given whatever insane amount it is form the National Lottery. The idea of 45 Mermaids clinics opening around the country is terrifying.”
After other anti-trans supporters, prompted by Linehan, contacted Big Lottery Fund about revoking the donation, they agreed to put the grant under review, prompting Bromis to start his fundraiser.
“I chose to support [Mermaids] because as a person living in Britain, I find the media discussion around this issue to be woefully misinformed,” Bromis said in a video, “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.”
Bromis has received support from a few notable people. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez dropped in on the stream on January 20 to discuss trans rights with Bromis and Cher retweeted a shout out from a fan calling attention to the stream.
dude, @AOC called into a Twitch stream tonight pic.twitter.com/KNxSWt2kzB
— Alex Thomas (@AlexThomasDC) January 20, 2019
https://twitter.com/Mermaids_Gender/status/1087170878171955201