Controversies have become a familiar sight on Twitch, prompting numerous prominent streamers to migrate to YouTube. The platform has been plagued by allegations of scamming involving ItsSliker, with even Ninja raising the specter of legal action against Pokimane - both incidents catching many off guard.
The consequences of these controversies have reverberated throughout the live-streaming community, causing streamers to face audience attrition and reputational damage. Nevertheless, Twitch continues to maintain its standing as one of the preferred platforms for live streaming, unfazed by the challenges it has faced.
READ MORE
7 most controversial streamers on Twitch and YouTube
Pokimane: 5 biggest controversies of Twitch streamer and skilled gamer
Here are the biggest streamer controversies of all time on Twitch
1. Ninja-Pokimane legal feud
A public feud unfolded between two prominent live-streaming stars, Tyler 'Ninja' and Imane 'Pokimane' in 2022. The clash began on January 11 when Pokimane was subjected to a 'hate raid' orchestrated by American YouTuber Jidon 'JiDion', forcing her to abruptly end her stream.
JiDion, shortly after attaining a verified streamer badge on Twitch, encouraged his followers to troll Pokimane by typing "L+Ratio" in her chat. Pokimane expressed her concerns on Twitter, leading to Twitch issuing a permanent ban on JiDion. Following this, JiDion's fans sought Ninja's support on his stream, causing tension between him and Pokimane. Upset with Ninja's apparent endorsement of JiDion, Pokimane took to Twitter, accusing him of enabling the overt sexism she had endured.
In response, Pokimane shared private messages she had received from Ninja and his wife Jessica during a livestream. These messages revealed their displeasure with Pokimane's accusations and included threats of legal action against the OfflineTV member for defamation. The incident added fuel to the already heated feud between the two streamers.
2. IShowSpeed's Valorant ban
Darren 'IShowSpeed', an American YouTuber and live streamer, has become synonymous with controversy in the world of online content creation. He found himself amid a viral storm in April 2022, for all the wrong reasons, when a clip from one of his Valorant streams surfaced. The clip showcased the 17-year-old making contentious remarks towards a female teammate during a game of Valorant.
In the now-deleted viral clip, IShowSpeed missed every shot as he turned a corner, leading to his opponent eliminating him. In response to his teammate's mocking, he aggressively labeled them noobs. The incident gained significant attention, with a Riot developer, npcSara, stating that IShowSpeed should be banned to ensure a safe environment within the community.
The repercussions of the incident continued to haunt IShowSpeed later in November 2022 when Sky Sports, the British sports broadcasting network, decided to remove all videos featuring him from their social media platforms upon discovering the YouTuber's controversial past.
3. Sexual assault accusations against MizKif
Matthew 'Mizkif' found himself embroiled in a tumultuous situation when prominent YouTuber Tyler 'Trainwreckstv' accused him of being involved in a cover-up of sexual assault allegations against another streamer. Trainwreckstv's outburst came as a response to the collective efforts of Mizkif and others to ban gambling streams on Twitch.
In a heated exchange on social media, Trainwreckstv directly addressed Mizkif, Asmongold, and Twitch, questioning whether they would employ manipulative tactics, involving individuals named Maya and Mitch, to silence victims of sexual assault. Trainwreckstv accused Mizkif of being complicit in the cover-up, cautioning him against making false claims while residing in a metaphorical glass house.
Soon after, streamer Adrianah Lee came forward during a livestream, sharing her account of being ssxually assaulted by streamer CrazySlick at a party in 2020. It was alleged that Mizkif had instructed his then-girlfriend, Maya, to downplay the incident and dissuade Adrianah from publicly addressing the matter. In response to the escalating situation, Asmongold addressed the issue during his stream, expressing his hope that Mizkif would distance himself from CrazySlick. Subsequently, Mizkif took a leave of absence from OTK (One True King), the content creation group he was associated with.
4. Unforeseen obstacles interrupt Dream's face reveal
After releasing his highly anticipated face reveal video on September 23, 2022, American Minecraft YouTuber Clay 'Dream' found himself amid controversy. An anonymous Twitter account accused the popular streamer of grooming, with a user named Anastasia claiming that he had attempted to contact her when she was 17 years old. The allegations had a profound effect on the Minecraft and YouTubing community.
Dream responded to the accusations on October 16, 2022, acknowledging that Anastasia's accusations were not false, but stating that he had met her when she was 18. He also suggested that he might pursue legal action against the accusations. The allegations sparked a great deal of discussion and raised important questions about the situation.
5. Domino effect of ItsSliker
In September 2022, a number of YouTubers and Twitch streamers came forward on Twitter, sharing their accounts of being deceived by English YouTuber ItsSliker. According to the allegations, ItsSliker had requested funds from them, claiming to need assistance with personal matters, but instead used the money to pay off his gambling debts.
On September 17, ItsSliker publicly revealed his gambling addiction and admitted to scamming streamers for money. He acknowledged his wrongdoing, stating, "I lied to many people." In response to the situation, fellow streamer HasanAbi attempted to facilitate a resolution by organizing a group call involving ItsSliker and Mizkif, to seek restitution for the streamers who had been scammed.
