The University of Washington canceled a planned speech by Hasan Piker, saying the popular and controversial far-left streamer was disinvited from a speaker series after questions about the internal process for selecting speakers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was determined that that the process for organizing this event did not meet the necessary level of rigor for University-hosted events in the Speaker Series,\u201d the university said in a news statement<\/a>. \u201cAs a result, this event will not be held.\u201d<\/p>\n Piker is a strident critic of Israel\u2019s policy and attacks on Palestinians, which he considers to be genocide. In May 2025, Piker said he was questioned by federal officials<\/a> at Chicago\u2019s O\u2019Hare International Airport regarding his political views.<\/p>\n In a post Tuesday retweeting a Fox News story on his canceled event at UW, Piker said he believed the school made the call because of his views on Israel.<\/p>\n \u201ci wish the dems were smarter & didn\u2019t let the (right-wing) groups be the only people who speak out against this clear violation of (the First Amendment) but unfortunately my position as a prominent critic of israel stops them from using this moment to show gop as arch cancel culture warriors,\u201d Piker wrote in the post.<\/p>\n In a series of emails, UW spokesperson Victor Balta wrote that the Office of Public Lectures had an informal agreement to bring Piker to speak, but ultimately it had not sent a speaking contract.<\/p>\n That office is both the entity that scheduled Piker and the one to make the decision to cancel the event, Balta wrote.<\/p>\n That hadn\u2019t prevented the university from putting out a news release announcing Piker\u2019s scheduled appearance for Jan. 21, 2027. The university also put his face on a flyer with those of other speakers in the UW-sanctioned series. Other events range from \u201cScience, Climate, and the Future of Food\u201d with a UC Davis geneticist Pamela Ronald and \u201cHow Digital Storytelling Shapes Power, Politics, and Public Opinion\u201d from Camille Zapata, digital director for California Gov. Gavin Newsom.<\/p>\n Inquiries seeking comment to Piker\u2019s Instagram account and an email listed for his business work were not returned.<\/p>\n Piker has made many controversial statements over the years, such as \u201cAmerica deserved 9\/11\u201d \u2014 which he later called a \u201cdumb\u201d oversimplification<\/a> of his beliefs. Recently, Piker has been campaigning alongside Abdul El-Sayed, the Michigan candidate for the U.S. Senate.<\/p>\n The canceled event comes as the Trump administration investigates UW over its \u201chandling of antisemitism,\u201d<\/a> citing a protest group that the university has said isn\u2019t affiliated with the institution.<\/p>\n