Dream shares apologetic DMs from Nicolas Cantu after viral clip exposed harmful rant

Brad Norton
Dream backstage

Dream just released a thoroughly detailed recount of his interactions with voice actor Nicolas Cantu, weeks after their viral exchange took the internet by storm and damaged both of their reputations for different reasons.

Back in November 2023, Dream posted a video on X (formerly known as Twitter) revealing an Uber drive involving Nicolas Cantu. The 20-year-old voice actor responsible for the likes of Leonardo in this year’s TMNT: Mutant Mayhem, was shown in a troublesome light.

“Being homophobic, antisemitic, ableist, and threatening to kill me,” Dream captioned his post at the time, a video that’s since gone on to accrue north of 130 million views. “This is after he physically assaulted me,” the popular content creator added to his explanation.

However, as Cantu was under the legal drinking age at the time of the recording, with the voice actor explicitly confirming he was drunk that night, many on social media quickly turned their attention to Dream. Amid a sea of grooming allegations against him, some questioned why he was involved in the first place.

Now looking to clear the air once and for all, Dream just released an 80-minute video covering all manner of accusations leveled against him in recent years. Not only that, but a supplemental 50-minute video also shared an entire interview with the Uber driver involved on the night of the Cantu incident.

https://twitter.com/Dream/status/1725689665330761951

“I had a terrible experience with this person,” Dream began in the section of his video recounting the Cantu controversy. “I don’t think I’ve ever gotten more hate in my life,” he then said of the fallout after sharing the video online back in November.

Detailing a “friend’s party” he went to in Austin, Texas, Dream claimed by the time he arrived, Cantu was “already drunk.” Although the two had allegedly never met until that night, Dream alleged the voice actor was immediately “aggressive” towards him, adding he even “hit [him] out of nowhere.”

Later that evening, a few from the party jumped in a shared Uber ride, which is where the original recording stems from. Lashing out at others in the vehicle, including the driver, Cantu went on a heated tirade that previously went viral across social media.

What the internet didn’t see shortly after, however, was a series of DMs between Dream and Cantu, which have now been revealed as part of the lengthy exposé on YouTube. Of which, Dream has pledged all profits from the video will go to the Joyful Heart Foundation.

Dream discusses the Cantu situation at the 48-minute mark below.

The very next day, Cantu sent a lengthy message looking to “apologize for hitting [Dream]. I think I slapped you once which was totally out of line. I apologize deeply for that.”

Trying to move on from the situation, Dream left it there, ‘hoping’ Cantu would “learn from his mistakes.” However, the internet soon pivoted away from the focal point of the video and instead targeted Dream.

Some conspiracy theories even argued accompanying text messages from the Uber driver were “faked” in an attempt to paint Dream in a more positive light. “People still think I lied,” he addressed in his video.

Clearing the air on that matter, Dream got back in touch and interviewed the Uber driver responsible for that trip. In a near hour-long conversation, available in full on Dream’s secondary YouTube channel, fans can listen to the entire chat as they go over the night from start to finish.

In one key moment when cops were called after Cantu dropped his phone on a busy road, the Uber driver recalled fearing for the voice actor as he allegedly “spoke down to the cops.”

“The way he was speaking to the cops… You’re gonna go to jail if you keep speaking like that,” he said. “He felt like he was better. I don’t want you to go to jail. Most Uber drivers would have left you.”

“The way he was acting was unacceptable.”

Putting to bed any and all rumors around the legitimacy of the text messages as well, the Uber driver then added: “All those text messages, that was me saying it.”