Freddy, the viral German soccer fan documenting his trip to the US, returns to X following backlash

One German soccer fan has been taking social media by storm since he arrived in the U.S. early this summer for the FIFA World Cup, and after a brief stint away, he’s back on X. 

Freddy, whose real identity is unknown, amassed hundreds of thousands of followers in just a few weeks thanks to updates about his travels across the U.S. He visited iconic American landmarks, road-tripped through at least half a dozen states, and even caught the attention of numerous celebrities. 

It wasn’t all easy and fun for Freddy, though. As Straight Arrow reported earlier this month, Freddy deactivated his X due to backlash he was receiving online. He was criticized for having been to the U.S. before, for accepting gifts and experiences from celebrities, and for a previous post he shared on X, where Freddy appeared to have commented on racial issues and discussed concertgoers who sing lyrics containing the N-word at live shows.

“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 in an Instagram post explaining his departure. “We really just wanted to document our road trip and never expected that people would have a problem with it.”

Now, less than a month later, Freddy is back on X.

Freddy returns

In a lengthy post on X this week, Freddy announced he had decided to reactivate his X account to “document the final part of our road trip.” 

He went on to explain why he left, making similar comments to those he made earlier this month on Instagram, saying the site had become “increasingly toxic.” 

“For some people, it’s unfortunately unfathomable that a good story can exist without some kind of hidden agenda behind it,” Freddy wrote. “I know this was only a small percentage of people, but after a while it became exhausting.”

However, after leaving X and moving his travel posts to Instagram, Freddy said he received “so many kind messages.” 

“They really made me realize how many people genuinely enjoyed following the trip,” Freddy wrote. “I decided to continue because I realized that the overwhelming majority of people loved following along. A small group of very loud people shouldn’t be able to ruin something that brought so many others joy.”

Back like he never left

Since announcing his return, Freddy has started posting on X as if he never left. He shared a recap of what followers may have missed since he left X, including a photo from Fourth of July celebrations. 

He shared videos and photos from the Smoky Mountains, Tennessee and North Carolina, and said he was even invited to a ranch in Tennessee by some “very nice people.” 

But the backlash hasn’t entirely gone away. 

While in Tennessee, Freddy got the chance to “shoot some guns,” sharing a video on X and expressing his shock at the fact that Americans could have guns at home and use them to “just shoot around.” 

That post, however, sparked some backlash on his account. One user replied, saying he was happy to see Freddy return to X, but criticized him for the post. 

“This is not freedom,” the user wrote. “This is domestic terrorism. Shame on you for normalizing and glorifying this.”

The continued criticisms show what Americans already knew about social media — it stays with you forever. However, Freddy, it seems, is not letting that stop him, and despite what’s happening online, one thing hasn’t changed for Freddy: his love for the U.S. In one of his latest updates, Freddy shared a video and said, “I’m never gonna leave.” 

In all reality, though, Freddy said he’s only in the U.S. until July 23.

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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief

Ella Greene

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