Pokimane hits back at claims she’s “lazy” after Avatar: The Last Airbender Twitch ban
Twitch: PokimaneTwitch streamer Pokimane defended the TV show meta on her return stream after being banned for watching Avatar: The Last Airbender. She responded to critics who are calling reaction streamers “lazy.”
The TV show meta sweeping Twitch in 2022 was shaken up after one of the site’s biggest stars Imane ‘Pokimane’ Anys was banned on January 8 for watching Avatar: The Last Airbender. After the suspension, the streamer came under sharp criticism from some viewers, and even former Twitch staff.
On her first stream back from her suspension, the OfflineTV creator responded to the drama and gave her take on the TV show and movie meta. According to the Moroccan-Canadian, the backlash channels are getting for reaction broadcasts is unnecessarily harsh.
Twitch: PokimanePokimane responds to “lazy” claims for watching TV shows on Twitch
On her first stream back from her 48-hour suspension, Pokimane begin her return broadcast by addressing her ban as well as giving her thoughts on the reaction meta as a whole. During the discussion, Anys responded to critics piling on reaction streamers with harsh criticism.
“I saw all the criticism snowball into the point that people were insulting streamers, and outright labeling them and the whole genre as lazy and I just felt that it was sort of unwarranted,” she said. “While I agree react content is one of the easiest content to make, it’s just unfair to just label people as ‘you’re untalented and lazy.'”
Pokimane then gave examples of streamers that were being criticized and why they are talented. “So many streamers at the top of the viewership list doing react content have already made amazing achievements. Disguised Toast was a main driving force in the Among Us and Hearthstone era,” she said. “xQc streams 12 hours a day and he was a pro player. They’ve all had great accomplishments, so I just found the criticism weird.”
While Anys admits she will not be streaming Avatar: The Last Airbender live again, she shared her views on where she would like the react meta to go in the future. “I really do hope that someday, publishers and live streamers can collaborate to the extent that they would allow us to share the experiences of watching full-length movies and TV shows with viewers all around the world. I think that would be so amazing,” she said.
The OfflineTV star’s response comes in the wake of the streamer facing harsh criticism online such as from former Twitch employee Shannon ‘ShannonZKiller’ Plante who called Pokimane a “fool” that is “beyond saving” on Twitter.
While Anys didn’t directly respond to specific critics, it appears that her overall take is that the backlash over the TV show meta was unnecessary. She also clarified that she believes that her ban was fair and that streamers are ultimately responsible for their own channels and the risks they take.