Streamers Who Were Attacked Mid-Stream
Streaming is often more dangerous than people realize. An effective livestream requires equal parts performance and personality. Stretching one's attention between gameplay and entertainment for the audience can be an overwhelming process, both physically and mentally. Streamers will often use noise-canceling headphones just to make sure that the outside world is purposefully tuned out.
However, tuning out the outside world won't necessarily prevent it from invading at any point. Livestreaming means the camera is pretty much always on — there is no "cut-to-commerical" when the broadcast starts heading south.
Over the years, a number of wild incidents have been caught on camera by streamers, including actual attacks. Some of these moments have been unexpectedly painful and traumatic, while others are more lighthearted. The one thing they all have in common is that they were broadcast for thousands to see.
WARNING: This article includes videos and stories which may be disturbing for some viewers. Reader discretion is heavily advised.
Silky White
A viral reddit thread from October 2021 reminded many viewers of an altercation between a drunk stepfather and his son on stream. Originally posted and deleted back on Twitch in July of 2020 (per Dextero) streamer Silky White's intense bout of family drama occurred while he was in queue for a "Valorant" game.
The 5-minute clip starts in the middle of the confrontation, during which Silky White and his stepfather are shouting at each other about money. Many parents and those from older generations might find the profitability of streaming to be unbelievable, let alone consider it a career choice. It seems Silky White's stepfather is from that group, accusing him of doing inappropriate things in front of the camera and not having a real job.
Further in the clip, it becomes more clear that the familial relationships being torn apart on-screen had been fraying for some time. "You've already lost us," Silky White tragically shouted at his stepfather. The situation seemingly escalated further off-screen, as Silky White can last be seen launching himself off of his gaming chair and towards his stepfather.
After the clips initial popularity in 2020, Silky White confirmed on Twitter that he was okay, but he was "sorry for everyone who found [him] this way." Introductions are already tough, but having a painful family event catalyze popularity can't feel good.
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.
RickeyBot
Back in 2016, "Pokemon Go" brought gamers out of their houses and into the grand outdoors. However, news outlets were quick to raise the alarms of safety hazards for the game's players. The lack of spatial awareness caused by the game led to scary incidents like a cop car being struck live on camera by a driver playing Pokemon Go. Another such incident happened to RickeyBot, a blogger who was mugged live on-stream.
According to Ricketybot, that fateful night was only the ninth time he had ever streamed. The attack is unsettling to watch, to say the least. RickeyBot can be seen walking down a well-lit street at night, trying to catch Pokemon, when a person starts to lurk behind him. Soon after, the assailant punches an unsuspecting RicketBot from behind, knocking him and his equipment to the ground. RickeyBot was using 3 phones as his streaming and playing set-up, all of which were taken by the assailant, who ran off just seconds after the attack.
Afterwards, RickeyBot said in an interview that he just felt "lucky to be alive," and that he was grateful only the phones were taken from him. As reported by Kotaku, to add insult to injury, RickeyBot's Twitch account was even temporarily suspended for streaming the event, which was deemed by Twitch to be a "Non-Gaming Content" violation.
Dr. Disrespect
An enigma of the gaming world, Dr. Disrespect is famous for his over the top antics and macho bravado. His popularity on Twitch took off in late 2018 and many considered him the face of the platform, even winning Streamer of the Year in 2019 from EsportsAwards. While his popularity was skyrocketing, his house was targeted by a mysterious attacker multiple times in September 2018.
The first attack levied against Dr. Disrespect's house was not live streamed. According to local authorities, his Porsche sedan had its windows shot out around 7:15am on September 10 by a BB gun and the local authorities were notified. The next day, while livestreaming, Dr. Disrespect's house had its upstairs window shot out in a drive-by incident.
After investigating the sounds for a minute, Dr. Disrespect came back on camera and broke character on-stream, "I've got to end the broadcast right now. Someone shot at our house, broke the f***ing upstairs window." The Doc was visibly and understandably shaken up by the situation, quickly logging off.
Shortly after, Dr. Disrespect resumed streaming on a regular basis and assured his viewers that the local authorities were working on the case. Although no culprits were seemingly found, Dr. Disrespect has not experienced any further attacks to the knowledge of his viewers.
msbandiit
In one of the most terrifying livestreamed home invasions, the house of streamer msbandiit was robbed at gunpoint during a Twitch stream. In June 2021, msbandiit and her husband were playing games online with family friend Jaco Viljoen while streaming "Call of Duty: Warzone" when the armed robbery occurred.
As can be seen in the livestream, the armed invaders burst into the room and made msbandiit and her husband get on the ground. Their hands and feet were subsequently bound with shoelaces and electrical cords, while msbandiit's husband's head was covered. Even worse, the couple's kids were right down the hallway and they were also brought forced to lie on the ground at gunpoint. As the family was held hostage the robbers loaded up a getaway car with plasma TVs, laptops, electronics, and car keys.
Jaco Viljoen, meanwhile, thought it a good idea to check on his friends after they'd suddenly gone silent, convincing local property security to come with him. Their noisy presence scared off the intruders, who ran away without their getaway car. A few days later, the car keys and phones that had been stolen were recovered not far from the property.
A traumatizing experience, msbandiit described the event to Pretoria Rekord as, "a terrible ordeal. You never know whether they are going to shoot you or not. When they covered my husband's face, I thought they were going to shoot him." Peace of mind is hard to restore after an incident like that, but thankfully nobody was hurt and nothing ended up lost or stolen.
JayKirky
When streaming in the wee hours of the morning, one would not expect to have any disturbances. Not before the world wakes up. However, that was not the case for Twitch streamer JayKirky. On December 4, 2020, his house was broken into while he was streaming "Resident Evil: Resistance."
As the haunting clip begins, JayKirky responds to some loud banging he hears from his doorway, even remarking that "It sounds like someone is trying to break in." As Jaykirky gets up to investigate off-camera, he reportedly sees a man with a black ski mask holding a machete outside his door. A loud shattering of glass and an off-screen scuffle can be heard. A panicked JayKirky can be heard pleading with the home invader, who suddenly realize he's not the person they were after.
Explaining the situation to his viewers in a later YouTube video, JayKirky said, "I thought I was going to die." According to GameRant, JayKirky was apparently living in a shady neighborhood and was saving up money to move out — specifically to avoid situations like this one.
Mr. Big
Of all the on-stream attacks, Mr. Big (also known by his handle Mr_13ig) might be one of the most well-documented. In October 2015, Mr. Big's viewers witnessed a series of altercations with neighbors and police that led to him losing his shoes, headphones, cellphone, lighter, and wallet. According to a report from Vice, Mr. Big was arrested and robbed on the same night, adding insult to injury.
The altercation began when some bad blood was rekindled with a neighbor. As seen in the video of the incident, a knock at Mr. Big's door prompts the streamer to yell out in response, "I will scream 'freedom' all night long!" About an hour later, another knock on the door arrives, sounding a bit less friendly. Instead of an upset neighbor, now a cop is at his front door investigating a noise complaint levied against Mr. Big. What follows is a somewhat hilarious back-and-forth between Mr. Big and the police officer, debating the rights and responsibilities of each party in the situation.
Eventually, the officer apparently reaches his breaking point and arrests Mr. Big, escorting him outside. However, the police officer and Mr. Big forget to close the door, leaving the opportunity for a shady intruder to immediately come in and peruse Mr. Big's belongings. Not knowing that his deed was being livestreamed, this neighbor quickly grabbed as many valuables as possible and scurried away. Since the event was livestreamed with video proof, all of the stolen goods were recovered for Mr. Big.
Sajedene
Back in 2015, while playing a casual round of "Dota 2," Twitch streamer and esports caster Sajedene and her partner had their house broken into at gunpoint. The pair were robbed as Sajdene continued to stream. Although not much of the incident can be seen on-camera, the robbery still is terrifying to watch and hear.
In the viral clip, Sajedene is alerted to a loud noise coming from outside her room. She gets up to investigate and within seconds, the door bursts open and a panicked altercation between the gunman and the couple ensues. While off-camera, Sajedene and her partner are instructed to stay on the ground as the robbery is carried out. At this point, the gunman appears in the frame looking frantically about the house, completely oblivious to the camera live streaming his actions. The whole incident only lasts for a few minutes and the couple made it through without any physical injuries.
According to a report by Kotaku, one of the culprits was apprehended in a foot chase shortly after the robbery, while the other assailant escaped police custody. The reason the police were able to show up so quickly, however, was because one of Sajedene's European viewers called the local authorities in Tempe, Arizona, when they saw what was happening live.
StaysafeTV
Not every livestream attack comes from human beings. A longtime content creator known for playing "World of Warcraft" and other MMORPGs, StaysafeTV is used to settling in for long hours of play. During those longer streams, it can be hard to stay aware of all one's surroundings — especially if the back door is accidentally left open for wandering strangers.
About 10 hours into a "New World" stream, StaysafeTV was surprised to learn that an outdoor adventurer has decided to come into his house. In the clip, it's easy for viewers to see a squirrel lurking in the background before finally scurrying up towards StaysafeTV. As soon as he sees the squirrel he freaks out a bit, shouting, "There is a squirrel in my house! There is a squirrel in my house! What the f***!"
StasafeTV tries his best to chase the squirrel out of his house, but the animale doesn't react how he predicts. Instead of scurrying away when chased, the squirrel launches itself at StaysafeTV, making him fall back in astonishment. No damage was done and the squirrel was eventually able to get back outside, but not before putting a scare into StaysafeTV and proving you should always close the back door before locking in for long gaming sessions.
Lynchy
In another case of leaving the backdoor open to outside invaders, Lynchy was visited by an uninvited guest when he was trying to let his puppy outside to use the bathroom.
"Valorant" is a pretty attention-consuming game, requiring players to always be on the edge of their seat. This heightened awareness can be seen getting thrown all out of wack as Lynchy tries to maintain focus on the match when a magpie flies into his room.
Lynchy tries to play off magpie's initial swoop as little more than a hilarious intervention. He puts his headset back on after being dumbfounded for a second, but he tries to regain focus on the game, the magpie launches its final assault. Instead of lapping around the room or back out the doorway, the magpie decides to fly directly into Lynchy's face, headshotting the streamer and knocking his headset off once again. Bewildered and amused, Lynchy immediately quips, "somebody clip that!" Someone did, and this moment will live forever in annals of livestreamed animal ambushes.