Vitaly destroys fan’s drone for following him around during stream
Kick: VitalyKick streamer Vitaly threw his shoe at a fan’s drone that was following him around during a broadcast, managing to bring the device down with surprising accuracy.
Vitaly Zdorovetskiy is a veteran content creator known for all manner of viral hijinks, but his latest content has put him on the map in a major way.
Recently, the influencer took over social media for teaming up with rapper Ty Dolla Sign to catch predators and “make an example” out of them, even shaving an accused man’s hair during an interrogation that spread across the net like wildfire.
However, Vitaly’s streams have become so popular that he’s now getting followed by fans using drones, something that happened to him during a May 8 broadcast on Kick.
Vitaly was on a public street with police and armed security guards after successfully capturing another accused predator when he noticed that he and his crew were being followed by a drone.
The streamer claimed it would make an “insane clip” if he brought it down in the presence of police — and that’s exactly what he did. Aiming with his shoe, the streamer threw his footwear at the drone, successfully bringing it down with a perfect shot right as a police car drove by.
“You thought you were gonna outplay Vitaly?” he boasted. “You’ll never.”
However, he reassured his chat that he would buy the fan a new drone, but made sure to warn viewers that he wasn’t happy with being followed around.
“Hey, I love you guys, I love all my fans, but you can’t do this sh*t. You f*ck up our audio, you f*ck up our project. We told you, we asked you nicely plenty of times, leave. You didn’t listen.”
It wasn’t long before the drone’s pilot walked onto the scene, prompting a confrontation between Vitaly and the fan.
“Do you think it’s okay f*cking our operation up and filming for your own content?” Vitaly asked.
“Do you think I f*cked it up, or do you think I helped it?” the fan retorted.
“You didn’t help it,” Vitaly shot back. “The sound is like a helicopter.”
“Did you watch the chat? Everyone loves the drone,” the fan argued. “I thought you were stoked on it, that’s all. …thanks for destroying the drone.”
Kick: VitalyIn response, Vitaly dropped the machine on the ground, getting his point across that he wasn’t a fan of his viewer’s antics. “Why do you sound like a weirdo, bro? I thought you were gonna be a cool guy.”
The two continued to argue, with the fan claiming that he would follow Vitaly again at a higher elevation to avoid the sound of the drone impacting the stream’s audio. A security guard standing nearby also told the fan that he was “interfering with a police investigation,” something that didn’t seem to faze the drone’s pilot, who continued to plead his case.
Luckily, the two seemed to end things on a positive note — but some viewers couldn’t help but comment that Vitaly might have broken the law by bringing down the fan’s drone.
Texas law outlines several cases when it is lawful to use a drone to record footage or take photos, such as for law enforcement officers in the event they suspect someone of a crime.
According to federal law, drones are considered unmanned aircraft, and it is illegal to destroy aircraft. Instead, lawyers urge those being filmed by drones to contact law enforcement in the event that their privacy is being compromised rather than taking matters into their own hands as Vitaly did.