Steven Williams
Williams in 2018
Personal information
Born	Steven Jay Williams (1974-07-24) July 24, 1974 (age 49)[1][2] Abingdon, Virginia, U.S.[3]
Occupation	YouTuber
Spouse	Desiree Williams ​ ​ (m. 2013; div. 2018)​ [4][5]
YouTube information
Also known as	Boogie, boogie2988
Channel	boogie2988
Years active	2006–present
Genre(s)	Gaming, comedy
Subscribers	4.02 million[6]
Total views	926 million[6]
Associated acts	Angry Grandpa Angry Joe Keemstar
Creator Awards 100,000 subscribers 2012 1,000,000 subscribers 2013
Last updated: April 11, 2023

Steven Jay Williams (born July 24, 1974), better known by his online alias Boogie2988 or simply Boogie,^[7] is an American YouTuber best known for his video rants about video games and nerd culture as a character named Francis.^[8][9]

Early life and education

Steven Jay Williams grew up in St. Paul, Virginia. His father, Carl Williams^[10] (May 1, 1935 - September 2, 2001) was a coal miner, and his mother, Wanda Faye Williams (née Privett)^[11] (December 6, 1941 - October 6, 2009) was a preschool teacher. He has two older siblings.^[12]

Williams described his childhood as a "sad" time period in his life, due to dealing with obesity, lack of friends, and suffering verbal and physical abuse from his mother. Despite this, he considers her death in 2009 to be the "saddest moment" of his life. He had already been depressed due to his father dying of cancer.^[12][13] Williams had gastric bypass surgery due to morbid obesity on August 1, 2017.^[14]

Williams graduated from St. Paul High School in Virginia^[15] and attended University of Virginia's College at Wise, but did not graduate.^[12] He later moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas, where he did not leave his home for seven years while being financially supported by a friend. It was then that he discovered YouTube and started to create videos,^[12] which he said "gave [his] life a meaning."^[16]

YouTube career

The Francis character is based on stereotypes of nerdy video game players and often parodies trending video game news, reaction, and culture.

Williams based the character on his early life experiences and has said that he wants viewers to hate the character for embodying gamer stereotypes.^[17] Williams videos range from absurd rants to serious discussions on daily life,^[18] such as the ethics of paid promotion on YouTube channels, and his experiences with mental health.^[7][19]

Williams won the Trending Gamer award at The Game Awards 2016.^[20]

In June 2016, Williams' YouTube account was temporarily closed due to an anonymous hacker. The unidentified person got hold of his phone number via Verizon during his time at VidCon and was able to gain access to his accounts associated with it, including his YouTube channel. His channel was restored less than a week later.^[21][22][23]

On May 13, 2023, Williams faced streamer WingsOfRedemption in a boxing match on the preliminary card of MF & DAZN: X Series 007.^[24] Williams lost the fight via TKO in the second round.^[25]

In November 2023, Williams appeared in a feature-length Documentary by independent filmmaker Mike Clum, which analayzed his downfall as well as his financial situation.^[26]

Controversies

In October 2018, Williams faced scrutiny due to his relationship with the controversial counseling service BetterHelp. He and other YouTubers sponsored by the service were accused of profiting from mental illness, which led to Williams publicly terminating his partnership with the company.^[27] Later that month, Williams was removed from a Dungeons & Dragons charity event due to concerns from LGBT activists.^[28]

In February 2019, Williams was criticized when he joked that he would "make a better team leader" over another player due to their parents' divorce and correlated it with anger issues during a live stream of the game Apex Legends.^[29] In April 2019, Williams admitted to potentially committing tax fraud. He stated that he purchases Magic: The Gathering cards for his channel, writes them off as a business expense, and then resells them without claiming the income on his taxes. The IRS states that income above $400 from self-employment must be reported.^[30] In June 2019, Williams faced criticism after clips from older live streams of him making racially charged comments resurfaced. He commented during one live stream, "That's a lot of money, I guess, for a person of color, or is it not?" after receiving a $3 donation from a follower who frequently donated to him on his stream with the message "I am a black person".^[31]

On June 27, 2019, Williams announced on Twitter that he had purchased a new Tesla automobile.^[32] Following his announcement, Williams held a live stream in early July in which he sarcastically asked for money to help pay for the new car, upsetting some of his viewers who took his comments seriously.^[33] Williams subsequently received harsh criticism for his live stream, prompting him to clarify that he did not actually purchase the car, but rather only put a down payment on it, and that he had cancelled the order as a result of the backlash against him, among other things.

In August 2019, Williams made a controversial statement against his internet trolls where he claimed "I think that there are rapists and Nazis out there who... are more redeemable than you because at least they're doing something they believe in."^[34]

Personal life

Shortly after his mother's death in 2009, he met Desiree "Dez" and she moved to Arkansas to live with him. She later became known in his content as Dez2988, taking on his numerical suffix and occasionally portraying the unseen character of Francis' sister. In October 2013, Williams and Desiree got married.^{[citation needed]} On December 19, 2017, Williams announced that Desiree filed for divorce and had planned to for a while, but waited until he sufficiently recovered from his gastric bypass surgery which was back in August.^[5] The divorce was finalized on February 13, 2018.^[35]

Williams is a theist.^[36]

In November 2022, Williams was diagnosed with polycythemia vera, a type of blood cancer.^[37]

In July 2023, Williams announced that he was in a relationship with Deziree Davis, who at the time, was 20-years of age. The announcement was met with mixed reactions, with some showing support of his new relationship, while others have pointed out the 29-year gap between the two despite being of legal consent.^[38][39]

Aggravated assault charge

In September 2020, Williams began trending on Twitter after news broke out of an ongoing conflict between him and Frank Hassle, a YouTuber who began harassing him over the course of several months after suspecting he was the cause of his channels' termination. After Hassle had made his way down to Williams' home in Arkansas, the two were interviewed by Keemstar, in which Williams threatened to kill Hassle if he stepped on his property. The next day after Hassle showed up at his house wearing a GoPro, Williams pulled out a revolver and fired a warning shot into the air. Hassle eventually left and the entire incident was caught on camera. A police investigation was launched shortly afterwards. On May 7, 2021, a warrant was issued for Williams' arrest on a charge of aggravated assault with a $5,000 bond by the Washington County, Arkansas sheriff's department.^[40][41] Williams turned himself in on May 12, was processed over the course of three and a half hours and posted bail. He pled guilty during his court session.^[42] On March 7, 2022, Williams stated that his case was settled on a deferred adjudication.^{[43][better source needed]}

Filmography

Television

Web

Exhibition boxing record