Why Ludwig's Cat Could Get Him In Trouble

Ludwig's family just got bigger. In a May 16 stream, the content creator revealed that he had adopted a new kitten. As part of the session, he invited his chat to help name the adorable little fur ball. To determine the winner, Ludwig decided to use a game of Marbles, assigning the more reasonable prospects to their own virtual balls. Though a chat latecomer, the name "Cracker" made the cut, joining the lineup. After gathering and assigning all of the better options, Ludwig let the marbles roll down the course, the fate of his cat now out of his hands.

Towards the end of the game, Ludwig rooted for "Ludwig III," which looked like it was in the lead. However, in the final moments, "Cracker" snuck across the finish line just before "Ludwig III," securing the victory and the name of the cat. Based on the pained look on his face, Ludwig seemed to instantly regret gifting his community with the privilege of choosing the kitten's moniker. He repeated the phrase, "That's so bad," insisting that "Cracker" wasn't a possibility. Beyond the obvious connotations, Ludwig may have been thinking about the issues related to the term that some of his fellow streamers recently ran into.

Back in December, Hasan Piker received a temporary Twitch ban. Though the platform did not provide an explanation, Piker believed he was punished for saying "cracker" on stream, a derogatory term directed towards white people. At least two other streamers at that time may have also received bans for using the word. This caused some individuals to take an issue with Twitch, which has historically struggled to deal with the use of slurs. While Ludwig left Twitch for YouTube, he hasn't had any trouble getting banned from his new platform.

In an attempt to get out of the potentially problematic situation on May 16, Ludwig ran more marbles matches in search of an alternative name for his pet. However, members of the chat felt cheated, resulting in one final ploy from the streamer. He wrote the names "Coots," "Cracker," and "Marbles" onto the screen and allowed the kitten to name herself from those three options. The cat immediately chose "Cracker," causing Ludwig to break down laughing. "This cat's a problem," Ludwig joked. "For me. For society." While it doesn't seem he has gotten into any trouble with YouTube, keeping the name "Cracker" could lead to future complications.