Americans were charmed by a German soccer fan’s US travelogue. Then they saw his old posts
Soccer fans from around the globe have been visiting the U.S. for weeks to watch the World Cup, sharing their experiences online and often complimenting the U.S. But one fan who went viral announced that he has deactivated his X account because of the criticism and backlash he’s received online.
Known online as Freddy, the German soccer fan shared his experiences in the U.S., from visiting Buc-ee’s for the first time to becoming a fan of country music singer Ella Langley and meeting her during one of her shows.
He amassed more than 700,000 followers on X in a matter of days and was covered widely in the media, including by Straight Arrow.
Now, he says he’s done.
‘Ruining the fun’
In a post on Instagram Tuesday, Freddy announced he had deactivated his X account, where he had meticulously documented his trip through the U.S.
“Too many people seem to have a problem with us having a genuinely good time here in this country, and this is ruining the fun a bit for us,” he wrote. “We really just wanted to document our road trip and never expected that people would have a problem with it.”
Freddy said people began digging through his 22,000 posts on X to find a handful that they consider controversial, sharing them online “without zero context to make me look like a bad person.”
They also apparently took issue with the fact that this was not Freddy’s first time in the U.S.
“I’ve seen that some people are upset that it’s not our first time in the USA, which is surprising to me,” Freddy wrote. “I even replied to someone at the beginning of the trip that I’ve been here before.”
Freddy said he had only ever been to “the main tourist places,” such as New York City, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
Digging up Freddy’s old posts
Freddy’s travel history isn’t the only factor in the pushback he has received. X users have found — and shared — old posts in which Freddy appears to have commented on racial issues and referred to the N-word.
One post, which has not been independently verified by Straight Arrow, said: “Racism can be directed toward any racial or ethnic group. And Whites are definitely a racial group.”
In another post, Freddy allegedly defended people using the N-word while at a concert.
“I was at some concerts in the USA and no one there gave a damn about it [the N-word],” he wrote. “It’s just the lyrics.”
“In rap songs,” he continued, “the lyrics are 50% made up of that word. Then you practically aren’t allowed to sing along anymore.”
Since the posts surfaced online, former fans have taken to criticizing Freddy and telling him to “go home.” When Germany lost in the World Cup’s knockout stage this week, fans celebrated by saying goodbye to Freddy.
Bye bye Freddy
https://t.co/JftCqxQWT0
— SEC Numbers Guy (@secnumbersguy) June 29, 2026
Freddy, however, isn’t going anywhere. He has hotels booked in the U.S. until the end of the World Cup.
Accepting sponsorships?
One final criticism Freddy faced concerned the perks he’s received while in the U.S. Since arriving and going viral, Freddy has gotten some red-carpet treatment.
Former NFL defensive end JJ Watt comped Freddy a penthouse at a Houston hotel, Gordon Ramsay decked out his room in Boston, and he got to experience the backstage at an Ella Langley concert.
Some took to calling Freddy a sell-out, while others claimed he was a plant to hype the U.S. He addressed the gifts Tuesday night in his Instagram post.
“Just want to say that I’ve genuinely made 0 cents from sponsorships or anything,” Freddy wrote. “I paid $1.2K yesterday to watch my team lose, even though I could’ve gone for free. But I didn’t want to do any sponsorships because for me that would ruin the normal road trip vibe we wanted to have.”
He went on to say the gifts from Watt, Ramsay and Langley were all that he accepted, adding if he had taken sponsorships, he would feel like a sell-out. He said he has saved for this trip for years and has spent a lot of money, even though he’s been offered things from teams and other Americans.
“We saw that you guys liked the normal road-tripping the most,” Freddy wrote. “The only money I made was from the X payout, which I’m really grateful for.”
Social media can haunt anyone
Freddy’s experience is not unlike that of many politicians and celebrities who have, for years, come under fire for old comments and posts.
This latest development just shows that anyone, even a foreigner visiting the U.S. who never revealed his real identity, can face severe scrutiny and backlash. But the lesson is always the same: watch what you say online.
As for Freddy, he may have left X, but he says his journey will continue and he’ll be posting updates to his Instagram account.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
