During a recent Twitch stream, Imane “Pokimane” Anys revealed why she isn’t a fan of IRL streaming. Pokimane made her thoughts on IRL streaming known while watching a viral clip of Andrea Botez, who was streaming while sitting in a restaurant. During Botez’s stream, a man tried to sit with her, and when she declined, he came up to the window next to her, and began making obscene gestures. Pokimane was clearly grossed out by the display, and used the opportunity to share with her viewers why she’s not a fan of IRL streaming on a personal level.ย
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“This is why I’m scared of IRL streaming. And I’ve already had bad/weird experiences,” said Pokimane. The clip can be found right here.
Unfortunately, it’s not surprising that some people have taken advantage of livestreams to get a few fleeting seconds of fame, while also making others uncomfortable. It also speaks to the issues that a lot of women streamers encounter in their profession. If this situation had involved a male streamer like Ninja or Jacksepticeye instead of Botez, it’s not inconceivable that someone might similarly give them a hard time. However, it seems a lot less likely that they would have acted like this. Instead, it probably happened because Botez is a woman, and that’s really unfortunate.
During a recent stream, Pokimane revealed that she hasn’t played as much Valorant, because playing as a Sova main requires her to talk more, and some players get weird over her celebrity status, or because of her gender. Based on some of these uncomfortable situations that have arisen, it’s no surprise that Pokimane might be hesitant to do more IRL streams. At the end of the day, the streamer will make her own decisions about what makes her the most comfortable, and her audience will likely stick with her based on those decisions. However, it is a shame that the actions of some jerks have forced her to make that choice.
Are you surprised Pokimane is hesitant to do more IRL streams? Are you a fan of IRL Twitch streams? Let us know in the comments or share directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!
[H/T: Dexerto]
