Documentary Director Calls Subject a 'Horrible Human'

Karam Gill paints Tekashi 6ix9ine as truly awful, but also a social media mastermind
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 15, 2021 3:47 PM CST
Updated Feb 20, 2021 3:40 PM CST

The three-part Supervillain: The Making of Tekashi 6ix9ine premieres Sunday on Showtime, and if director Karam Gill was hoping to drum up interest in the docuseries, well, consider it done. Gill gave Page Six a fairly scathing and headline-worthy take on what the rapper is like: "He is truly a horrible human being who has done terrible things." So how did a "horrible human being" who served two years for racketeering end up getting released only to release a single called "Gooba" that in a 24-hour period became YouTube's most-watched hip-hop video? "I think viewers will be shocked to realize how hyper calculated" he is, Gill says. "Tekashi was someone who never did anything online on accident. Every click, word, and action online was designed with care to spark a reaction."

Gill goes so far as to call him a "social media mastermind." Tekashi's "understanding of how human beings operate on these platforms is incredible," he says. He continues, "We’re living in the era of manufactured celebrity, where people can create inauthentic online personas and rise to fame without any talent or morals. Tekashi’s story is exactly that—he's someone who realized the power of having your own platform." Billboard reports the docuseries is based on the similarly named "Tekashi 6ix9ine: The Rise and Fall of a Hip-Hop Supervillain," by Stephen Witt that ran in Rolling Stone in January 2019. Tekashi sits for a post-prison interview in it. Giancarlo Esposito (of Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul) narrates.

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