
We have to talk about Twitch. Specifically, we have to talk about the problem of predators on Twitch.
Over the weekend, several people came forward on Twitter to describe incidents of harassment, assault, and coercion by Twitch streamers, YouTubers, eSports players, and other people in the gaming industry. The floodgates appear to have been opened by several women in the Destiny community describing the threatening and creepy behavior theyâd experienced at the hands of one streamer. Within a day, several others came forward with stories of other streamers whoâd done the same or worse. More and more reports are coming in even as I write this.
The stories range from uncomfortable (open propositions with promises or implied threats regarding their future on the platform) to downright horrific (rape and the grooming of children). If you want to read an account of these â and I have to give the mother of all trigger warnings â @JessyQuil on Twitter has compiled a list of all the stories, along with corroborations from others and the accusedâs response if there is any:
I'm sorry if I haven't gotten to your story yet.
Submit your story: https://t.co/5QLHXbqsI0
Master Spreadsheet of verified submissions of stories and responses is coming soon.
Medium Post: https://t.co/DK91JR9iB6
â JessyQuil (@JessyQuil) June 23, 2020
I recognized several names on the list of those outed. One was a YouTuber I used to watch almost daily. One was a Twitch streamer I considered a friend. Both have since owned up to the allegations, which include repulsive interactions with fans they knew to be underage. I know even more people on the list by reputation or because theyâre friends of friends.
I have spent almost every day of the last few years of my life on Twitch. I met my fiance through a group of Twitch streamers. I still count several people on the platform as my dearest friends. The lingo and behavior of the communities Iâm part of are as familiar to me as the sea is to a sailor. And I want to make something clear with regards to the pervasive, predatory behavior of so many streamers:
We all knew this was happening. We all knew.
Everybody fucking knew
When the news about Harvey Weinstein broke back in 2017, just about everyone rushed to cut ties with the man. Some of the most well-known figures in the entertainment industry suddenly came forward with their own horrible Weinstein experience. And for those lucky enough not to have been harassed, assaulted, or raped by him, the reply was often: âI didnât know.â
Then Scott Rosenberg, a former Miramax buddy of the Weinsteins, published an absolutely scathing invective, simultaneously admitting culpability and calling out hypocrisy with one short thesis: âEverybody-fucking-knew.â
Every. Single. Woman I know has a story like this, at minimum an 'innocent' coincidence that they've been forced to brush off, haven't wanted to make a fuss about. Which means lots of people out there think this is NORMAL. CALL IT OUT. IT ISN'T NORMAL.
â leah! (@leahviathan) June 20, 2020
In essence, Rosenberg takes away the denial defense by making it clear that every single person in the industry was aware, at least on some level, of what Harvey Weinstein was doing, himself included. That one statement â everybody fucking knew â made the most sense because it answered the question of how Weinstein could have got away with his behavior for as long as he did. Everybody knew what he was doing, but everyone willfully ignored or abetted it because they enjoyed the fruits of something Weinstein did.
Let me now co-opt Rosenbergâs statement. When it comes to Twitch, and the fact that several of its streamers are predatory, manipulative, and creepy, I say no one should feign surprise. Because we all knew.
I just want everyone to remember the next time some fuckweed says something along the lines of "why aren't there more popular female streamers" or "why aren't more women in eSports?"
Because this space is not fucking SAFE for us.
â RENĂE (@renee) June 22, 2020
Everyone on Twitch has a variation on the same story: a streamer (often male, but not always) who seems to pay special attention to the younger women in their chats and Discord servers. A YouTuber who brags about their conquests just a little too loudly and crudely in mixed company. Someone who says vaguely uncomfortable things, or whose hands wander a bit too much. Weâve seen what they say in Twitch chat. Weâve seen what they do at conventions. Every single one of us has a story.
We all knew these people existed. We all knew what they were doing. We all knew the prevailing attitude among Twitch communities was dangerously permissive of such things. If you havenât, then either youâve only spent time in walled gardens guarded with near-religious zealotry, or you are that person.
Because we all knew.
A lot of people coming forward about sexual harassment/assault in the games industry today.
I just want to say: in WAY too many cases I have seen people who claim to be outraged by this behaviour continue to 100% support those they KNOW are doing it⊠until itâs public.
â Alanah Pearce (@Charalanahzard) June 20, 2020
As with Rosenberg, Iâm sure there will be many who willfully misinterpret this as me saying those who knew a bit knew everything, or that theyâre in some way culpable. Thatâs not what Iâm saying â I donât think we all knew YouTubers were sexually grooming children. I donât think we all knew Twitch streamers were using their audiences as cudgels to bully women into submitting to their advances. I donât think you knew. But come on. You knew.
And how do I know that? Because I knew.
Yeah, I knew too
The former friend mentioned above? This wasnât the first time he was accused of manipulative or sexually coercive behavior. A few years earlier, when revelations surfaced, he personally assured me that the text messages he exchanged with the woman and the images he extracted from her were a misunderstanding. This was a person who comforted me after the death of my mother, and I foolishly thought that act was a reflection of his true character.
if you think there are a lot of sexual assault allegations coming out right now, just know thereâs so many more people that are still too afraid to speak up.
â pokimane (@pokimanelol) June 22, 2020
The fact that one kind gesture was enough to get me to compromise my own principles is something Iâm going to have to square with on my own time. I cannot apologize enough for being one of the people who did nothing, for not cutting ties then as I have now. I didnât know this person was engaging in his inappropriate behavior with minors, but I knew the way he behaved wasnât right.
He wasnât the only one. Iâll never forget one instance when I fled a channelâs chat room because one popular member of it threatened to rape me (or, as Iâm sure he remembers it, âoffered to bend me over a table and have his way with meâ), and what he said was met with little more than âtsk tsksâ from both the streamer and others in chat. Iâve been the recipient of more pet names and unwanted compliments, jeers, and catcalls on Twitch than I ever have in my real life. And, were I not bound by discretion, I could tell the stories of all my friends whoâve experienced this and more.
I was a VP at Twitch and I reported this to the relationship-owning VP, the head of HR, and the CEO. All assured me it would be handled. Next year he was in the same VIP space at the same Twitch event. I was told he was the VPâs uncle and an âimportantâ initiative launch partner. https://t.co/LvkPxW43zR
â Justin Wong (@JustinWong) June 22, 2020
Judging by what some of the people involved have said, even Twitch itself was aware of this. After Twitch posted a statement about how it was âactively looking into accounts concerning streamers,â whatever that means, several came forward to point out that they reported their abusers to Twitch, only to be met with silence. One streamer reported that CEO Emmett Shear refused to entertain the notion when staff members raised it to him, passing it over with no comment. Shear has since spoken about the issue on Twitter, saying that it was never his intent to dismiss the issue and that âI do care, deeply.â
We know, so now what?
Twitch and YouTube âworkâ because their stars feel so accessible. You feel that youâre close with them, that theyâre not strangers. This is such a danger for the young and vulnerable on the platform, the children we all know haunt these chats and these comment sections. The unfettered access this gives content creators to malleable, easily manipulated minds is nothing short of alarming, and we should not be so accepting of it as a trade-off for having streams or videos.
One more note:
They are more upset with you sharing light on someoneâs inappropriate actions as potentially ruining that personâs career than they are upset with the person who did the inappropriate action potentially ruining their own career.
Priorities.
â Jacqui Collins (@jacquicollins_) June 22, 2020
In several of these cases, the accused have come back with a line about how they werenât aware that their advances were unwelcome. They didnât hear âno.â If youâve said that in your own defense or in someone elseâs, this is not the strong argument you might think it is. That was my former friendâs defense, that the woman he harassed and manipulated never told him she was uncomfortable. Unfortunately, that is the exact inverse of consent, and a toxic way to approach social interaction. You should not approach other people thinking youâre good to behave the way you wish until you hear ânoâ â youâre supposed to withhold until you hear âyes.â
Another common defense is that the behavior of the accused, while gross, isnât illegal. And buddy, if thatâs your bar to clear when it comes to acceptable actions⊠thatâs practically subterranean. Still others have attempted to blame the victims of sexual assault and rape by asking why theyâre talking about it on Twitter rather than reporting it to the police, a shoutdown tactic so common itâs becoming a painful cliche.
âUmm not all menâŠâ
Bro, like 60 dudes just got called out for sexual assault maybe sit this one out.
â Alex (@TrainwithAlex) June 21, 2020
I could respond with a list of reasons emotional and logical why a victim might not go to the police, but no one who asks that really cares to hear the response â itâs a desperate attempt to rid both oneself and oneâs idol of responsibility, to assure oneself that the accusation canât possibly hold water because, if it did, the accuser would have gone to the police.
If youâve tried to defend the streamers and content creators whoâve been accused, I urge you instead to turn those energies inward and ask yourself what else youâve seen that fits this pattern of behavior. How many times have you shouted down complaints on their behalf, or willfully ignored bad behavior, simply because you think of these entertainers as your friends?
Itâs on us to fix this. We have to take out the trash. We knew it was there and too many of us did nothing.
We all knew.
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