Pokimane Calls Out 'Creepy' Viewers
Pokimane is a massively popular Twitch streamer who has gained a reputation for taking creeps to task. This week, Pokimane came to the defense of a fellow streamer who was dealing with inappropriate viewers. In typical Pokimane fashion, the Twitch superstar did not mince words.
Twitch streamer QuarterJade has apparently been dealing with people who've taken clips of her stream when she's turned around or bent over in front of the camera. These users have then gleefully uploaded these clips, painting these moments in a suggestive light. It seems this has occurred enough times for QuarterJade to be absolutely through playing nice. QuarterJade took to Twitter to call this behavior out.
"[I]f you are the type of loser that clips when [I] walk away from my cam, bend over, etc... F**K YOUUUUUU," tweeted QuarterJade. "[I]'m so sick of you stupid perverts and [I] hope your p***s gets stuck in a lawn mower."
A few of Jade's fellow streamers agreed with her sentiment. One streamer even mentioned that she always turns her camera off whenever she stands up for this exact reason. Partnered Twitch streamer Autumn Rhodes agreed that this treatment was unfair, tweeting, "say it louder for the people in the back." Another streamer said that they had also seen people using clips of their streams in such a way, and they were disheartened to learn that one of those clips was the top video on their channel.
Unfortunately for QuarterJade and the many female streamers who have dealt with this kind of behavior in the past, a great number of the replies to her tweet were from users justifying the action or telling her to just deal with it. Some people offered suggestions on how to avoid these kinds of viewers, while others pointed out that QuarterJade shouldn't have to go out of her way to keep people from being creepy.
Obviously, QuarterJade's tweet touched on something that is a sensitive subject for many Twitch streamers and viewers. However, one comment in particular brought down the wrath of Pokimane.
One user suggested that QuarterJade should switch to an "away" screen of some kind. The purpose of this would be two-fold. Not only would it let her viewers know that she would be right back, but it would also keep people from recording the kinds of clips that upset QuarterJade in the first place. This user also notably told Jade that doing so is "not rocket science."
Pokimane took major issue with this comment, replying, "why do we, as female streamers, need to work around the creeps in our chat? [E]specially in regular and far from sexual scenarios, like standing up from our chairs lol." Essentially, Pokimane's biggest concern seemed to stem from the fact that so many replies focused on what QuarterJade could do to avoid people creeping on her channel, rather than trying to discourage the uncomfortable viewer behavior.
Pokimane has actually spoken out against this kind of behavior in the past. As Pokimane explained in a recent apology video, she fully supports viewers and content creators using her clips for "transformative" content. However, she draws the line when people take clips from her stream and upload them with sexually suggestive or downright offensive titles. According to Pokimane, this practice is both misleading and inappropriate. Because of this, Pokimane has apparently gone so far as to have some of those offending videos reported and removed.
In other words, it makes sense that Pokimane would find QuarterJade's post to be a topic worth her time. A large number of the comments on QuarterJade's original post are essentially "boys will be boys" kinds of defenses, which didn't seem to sit well with Pokimane at all.
Pokimane has also spoken out against double standards. Earlier this year, Pokimane discussed streamer scandals in the most straightforward way possible. She said that it bothered her how women were treated following a mistake as opposed to men. She explained that female streamers seem more likely to be harassed and shouted down than their male counterparts. At the time, Pokimane tweeted, "it sucks because I can understand why, guys have an easier time relating to guys, and girls to girls, so if a community is male-dominated, there's bound to be biases. But, I hope that in this day & age, we can learn to be both fair and empathetic with others regardless of this."
It wasn't too much longer after this that Pokimane took an extended break from streaming. Although Pokimane has returned to Twitch and is streaming regularly, it appears many of these same issues are still bothering her.