[2][3] Mychal Jefferson began speedrunning Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island in 2004, after being introduced to the concept by a Speed Demos Archive DVD that was bundled with an issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly.

At the time, discussing politics on Twitch was seen as difficult for streamers because of audience backlash, but Jefferson called airing his opinions "a moral obligation that made me feel good about doing the right thing.

[14][16] Jefferson was temporarily banned from Twitch in October 2018 when he called a friend in the room a faggot during a Super Mario Party stream.

Jefferson contested that he wasn't using any audio or video from the event, showing only subtitles, and made a statement to The Verge that "I refuse to be silenced.

"[16] When it was discovered that the claims were made by a fake organization allegedly on behalf of CBS, Twitch reinstated the accounts with no penalty and apologized for the incident.

The podcast streamed its final episode in October 2019, in which Jefferson confronted Bonnell regarding public statements the latter had made defending his use of racial slurs in private.

"[2] When Twitch surveyed its users for global emote suggestions, fans begged for Jefferson's nervous smile to be made site-wide.

Since Jefferson's face had emerged as a "de facto slur" on Twitch, some streamers (including Hasan Piker) have banned TriHard from their chat.