Pokimane And xQc's New Show Is Already In Trouble
Pokimane and xQc are arguably two of the most famous streamers working today, and what could be better than two of the most popular streamers joining forces to host a podcast together? On April 9, xQc announced that he'd be joining Pokimane as her cohost on a new podcast, and fans went wild at the prospect. He told his Discord that he and Poki would be doing a test episode to try hosting together and get a better feel for the studio they were using to produce the show, but that never happened. Unfortunately for fans, xQc never showed up.
The pair was supposed to test out their new podcast format on April 9 on Twitch, but when the time came for things to get started, xQc didn't log on, leaving Pokimane to take care of the stream by herself. When a viewer asked Pokimane if xQc left her hanging, she shrugged and said, "I think he forgot that today was Saturday, or maybe he thought I meant next Saturday ... I don't know. I really think he just lost track of the days." It seemed clear that Pokimane wasn't sure what happened, but she appeared just as frustrated as her viewers.
Pokimane weighed her options
Quickly after Pokimane began streaming, she changed the name of the broadcast to "POKI & XQC PODCAST!! ... except it's just poki because xqc forgot," calling out her fellow streamer for his error. To be fair, Pokimane waited around for a while, trying to track down xQc's whereabouts online and give him a chance to show up. As she stalled, Pokimane's chat told her to simply call him, especially since she said she was relatively sure he was sleeping through the stream. Pokimane checked xQc's Twitter, where he had posted that he'd be streaming after he returned home from a spontaneous trip out. Pokimane concluded that xQc likely forgot what day of the week it was, but also pointed out that it was his idea in the first place to do a podcast together.
Pokimane considered what her options could be moving forward. She said that the pair had already planned out what they'd be discussing on the podcast and that she was really looking forward to it. Pokimane saw three options she could take moving forward: She could go to Mizkif and ask him to consider joining her on the podcast, or she could try again with xQc at a later date. Alternately, she could message fellow streamer Forsen and offer him the position.
Even though the stream seemed to be xQc's idea, that doesn't mean that Pokimane couldn't make it her own project. At this point, it's not totally clear whether Pokimane saw reaching out to other cohosts as a temporary or permanent move, and it's possible that she was thinking of how to fill her stream only to compensate for xQc's absence. Regardless, fans weren't happy, and let the world know how they felt about xQc's accidental nap.
Fans had theories
The situation seemed to leave some viewers confused, disappointed, and searching for answers. Many xQc fans offered some insight by noting that xQc has struggled with maintaining a regular sleep schedule in the past, which often affects his mental health and ability to keep set plans. Other fans simply tried to wake up xQc by tweeting at him.
It's true that xQc has experienced a fair amount of turmoil recently. While the streamer is always controversial, frequently getting banned from various platforms, he recently suffered a big loss at The Streamer Awards, followed by a series of death threats after participating in the r/Place event. If the streamer needed to take a day off, it would certainly be understandable.
At least one fan speculated that Pokimane has a crush on xQc, which would account for how often she attempts to collaborate with him, despite his unreliability. However, neither party has ever indicated that was the case, and it's possible the two simply work well as content creators. After all, they're both exceedingly popular and share a similar viewership.
There's little danger of xQc's mix-up really affecting either streamer in the future, especially considering that Pokimane didn't seem particularly mad about xQc's absence. In fact, she even sympathized with her friend. "Part of me gets it," Pokimane said. "Because I forget the day of the week all the time." Streamers often keep odd schedules, and even Pokimane admitted it's easy to lose track of time, especially after a particularly long stream. Fans will have to wait to see what becomes of the Pokimane and xQc podcast in the future. Hopefully, xQc can make it to the next test episode.