Pokimane Holds Nothing Back On Streamer Scandals

Pokimane is a hugely popular streamer, but she still has to deal with plenty of harassment online and has feuded with more than one content creator in the past. She even quit streaming Fortnite partially due to her difficulties dealing with stream snipers. Following a recent series of controversies in the streaming world, Pokimane has weighed in on double-standards that she sees in the industry. 

On her personal Twitter account, Pokimane discussed the difference between how men and women are treated in the streaming industry when they make a mistake. According to Pokimane, the response to women is usually, "what a fake b—h, such a worthless piece of s—t, also go die in a hole." Meanwhile, Pokimane expressed that she felt men are usually given more of a pass, with reactions like, "omg king don't worry, everyone makes mistakes, we know you have a good heart and will be here for you forever."

Pokimane continued, "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."

A few followers mentioned that it felt like Pokimane was being unfair or using blanket statements. Pokimane responded that her original post was "obviously a generalization of what usually happens in majority male industries ... just stating what i've generally observed being in this scene for 7 years."

However, there were also plenty of comments from fans who supported her. One fan wrote, "I'm so sorry about some of these comments. I know it's infuriating."

Another one of her followers also pointed out there seems to be a double standard when it come to the people subscribing to male and female streamers, as well. This person tweeted, "I find it frustrating that someone can donate to a male streamer and he's praised, but when someone even subscribes to a female, they're 'trying to get with her', a simp, etc." 

Dexerto's Virginia Glaze notes that Pokimane's statements regarding the treatment of women in the streaming world come not long after a scandal involving the Offline TV team. Though Pokimane has been associated with Offline TV for years, she recently moved out of the house shared by the members of Offline TV. Initially, she told her fans that she was doing this because she was having trouble balancing work and life, desiring a bit of a break between the two.

However, the following week brought the revelation that Offline TV member Fedmyster had been accused of sexual misconduct and harassment by fellow members Lily "LilyPichu" Ki and Yvonne "Yvonnie" Ng. Pokimane explained that she had developed major trust issues with Fedmyster over the years, which contributed to her leaving the Offline TV house. 

While none of Pokimane's tweets directly reference the Fedmyster situation, it's hard not to wonder if the two are connected in some way. The controversy involving Fedmyster may have had some impact on how Pokimane views gender politics in the streaming world. 

There have been plenty of controversies that have rocked the streaming world in recent months, some of which may illustrate the very kind of gender biases mentioned by Pokimane. One of the more prominent blow-ups on social media in recent memory involved Alinity. An argument on Twitter between herself and Ninja brought to light some of the many ways in which social media drama and toxic fans can have a negative impact on a person.

During an emotional livestream, Alinity told her viewers that she had considered suicide due to online harassment. This was reiterated on a later appearance on Dr. K's channel. They discussed the kind of criticisms that Alinity receives on a daily basis and how it has affected her. Not only that, but she pointed out that she felt like people always blamed her for things that she wasn't even involved in. Following Dr Disrespect's mysterious ban from Twitch, Alinity says that some people accused her of somehow being involved, which caused greater psychological stress for her.

Alinity's impassioned words led to a public apology from both Ninja and esports journalist Rod "Slasher" Breslau, both of whom felt guilty for coming for her in the past. One person who was less impressed with Alinity's words was PewDiePie, another internet personality who is no stranger to feuding with others.

In other words, while not everyone may agree, Pokimane seems to be expressing a sentiment that has been present in everyone's minds lately. Gender politics aside, there does seem to be a divide in how fans and other content creators process controversy.