The long-awaited return of “Roaring Kitty,” the investor behind the GameStop meme stock craze, appears to have fallen flat, as the internet sensation failed to lift the stock that launched him to fame. 

The meme stock leader, whose real name is Keith Gill, was 25 minutes late in joining his highly anticipated livestream on YouTube and joked before the some 600,000 viewers that he had “no real game plan” for the event, but “just wanted to hop in and see what’s popping.” 

GameStop shares had already begun to decline in the hours before the livestream — by about 25 percent during morning trading — after the company released disappointing first quarter earnings.

Mr. Gill seemed unperturbed, cracking open a beer and responding to audience chat comments, until he noticed that the stock had started to drop even further since he started the stream. “Oh no I’m causing it to go down,” he blurted out. 

Evidently, Mr. Gill did little to quell investor worries as he went on, ending the livestream with the stock down 40 percent. If the loss holds, it would mark GameStop’s worst day since February 4, 2021, when the stock fell more than 42 percent, according to Dow Jones Market Data. 

The stock’s volatile decline was shown in real time to the 600,000-plus viewers via a live price map of the stock that Mr. Gill displayed in the background of his screen. 

Mr. Gill has been teasing his return to the public for weeks, beginning with his initial resurface on X, when he posted a cryptic image of a man leaning forward in a chair, and a Reddit post this past weekend showing a $116 million position in GameStop. 

The stock surged in response to his social media re-emergence. Before Friday’s stock tumble, GameStop shares had risen more than 160 percent since Mr. Gill’s post on X in May. Over the same period, the S&P 500 rose by 2.5 percent. 

Mr. Gill’s big return, though, has reignited concern regarding his increasingly strong influence over the markets. E*Trade, the platform he recently used to purchase shares of GameStop, is allegedly considering shutting him down due to potential “market manipulation,” the Wall Street Journal reported.  

Given how quickly Mr. Gill’s trades can move the market and cause a stock to appreciate — to his own benefit — E*Trade, owned by Morgan Stanley, is debating whether his actions amount to actual market manipulation. It will also have to weigh the potential backlash over removing him from the platform. 

The Massachusetts security regulatory authority is looking into Mr. Gill, too. A representative of the Massachusetts secretary of state, Bill Galvin, reportedly told MarketWatch, “The securities division is looking into his activities.” Following the announcement of the reported investigation, Mr. Gill posted an image of an Uno “reverse” card on his X account. 

There is also speculation that the Securities and Exchange Commission may get involved, though lawyers believe it to be unlikely that the SEC would actually sue Mr. Gill for manipulation, given that the agency would need to supply evidence that he actually deceived the market, according to reporting by the Wall Street Journal. 

Mr. Gill, so far, has managed to avoid any legal penalties for his trading activities. Back in 2021, though, the Massachusetts securities agency — the same office currently investigating Mr. Gill — fined his employer at the time, MassMutual, for failing to oversee his trading activity.

The formerly registered stock broker does not shy away from risky investing, which he describes as “deep value.” While Mr. Gill made a small fortune during the initial GameStop craze, he also reportedly took losses of $13 million in just a single day. 

Mr. Gill, though, has reiterated that his investing style is not for everyone, and adds a warning to his YouTube channel’s page: “Please understand that my style of investing is extremely aggressive and I take on a substantial amount of risk. It’s likely my approach would not be suitable for you,” he notes. 

Even as the stock fumbled, Mr. Gill’s viewers pitched their loyalty to “Roaring Kitty” and their commitment to purchasing GameStop stock in the chat. “GME, AMC, FFIE — Buy what you can afford and hold on to the moon!” one viewer wrote, followed by a rocket emoji that became synonymous with GameStop’s rise in 2021, followed by, “Bought 400 GME, lets goooo!” Another: “We love you!”