Bullied Twitch artist explains why she “can’t forgive” her harassers

Twitch emote artist ‘Neko’ was the subject of unfounded vitriol from a fellow artist and his girlfriend on May 1, leading to mass backlash against the couple for their hateful comments – but their subsequent apologies aren’t getting any sympathy from Neko.

Neko went live in a stream on May 3 explaining why she hadn’t watched Joseph ‘Kuno’ Chan’s apology video on the topic, claiming that he had never personally come to her to make peace before making a public statement.

“I think if someone were really, sincerely apologizing, he wouldn’t have made an apology video,” she said of the issue. “…I did this too, I just quietly went into their thing and be like, ‘Hey, I’m sorry.’ So I don’t wanna watch it, I’m sorry.”

Why Neko “can’t forgive” Kuno

However, Neko later uploaded a YouTube video denouncing this claim, apologizing to Kuno for not seeing a message he had sent out the day of the incident in an attempt to reach her and apologize in private.

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Despite her apology, she went on to state that she wouldn’t forgive Kuno for his hateful words, instead stating that he needed to earn forgiveness by changing his actions henceforth.

“To get to the point… I can’t forgive you,” Neko stated. “But I think forgiveness is not something you need from me. I think the forgiveness you really need is showing us and showing the community around us that you have changed.”

Kuno’s apology

Kuno uploaded his apology video to YouTube on May 3, claiming that he’d earned the mass hatred targeted at him and would work to grow from the experience.

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Kuno likewise claimed that he and his girlfriend, Hana, had parted ways due to the debacle, stating that he will “be working hard to make right out of what I have wronged on my own.”

Major Twitch bullying leads to eventual ban

A clip from Kuno’s stream went viral on May 1, after he and Hana were caught verbally harassing Neko for her art, with Hana calling Neko a “piece of trash” and even appearing to insult her for being “autistic.”

The internet at large fought back against their hateful speech, with even the likes of Game Grumps’ Arin Hanson and Ross O’Donovan decrying their actions and sending support to Neko in the process.

Kuno and Hana have since been banned from Twitch following the blowup – providing a brief bit of justice for Neko, whose follower count skyrocketed after the issue exploded across Twitter.