Child Gamer Apologizes for Harassment of Pokimane During Fortnite Stream
12-year-old gamer ‘Toxic’ made an apology video following a negative interaction with Pokimane during a Fortnite stream.
Notable streamer and gamer Pokimane was confronted with an uncomfortable situation during a Fortnite stream. Over voice chat, a fellow player revealed himself as a huge fan — and a twelve-year-old boy.
While Pokimane was initially pleased and surprised at his enthusiasm, that surprise quickly turned to shock and disgust at the kid’s following statements.
“Are you down to sixty-nine?” he asked, making slurping noises over the mic. Pokimane left the game following an especially racist remark, where the child yelled “Allahu Akbar” during the match.
The child’s sexist and racist comments were enough to drive viewers to report him, leading to the deletion of his YouTube channel. The streamer, appropriately named ‘Toxic,’ uploaded an apology video preceding the ban, where he expressed remorse for his behavior.
“I was in Pokimane’s game recently and there was some negative energy,” he admitted. “I wanted to come out and say I’m sorry about all the inappropriate things.” He went on to say that his comments were meant as a joke, and that his words were badly received by viewers.
Toxic’s comments caught the attention of Ninja, who recognized that the internet’s anonymity can lead to inflated confidence for pubescent boys trying to interact with women in gaming.
“For some reason, kids just think that they can be the most disgusting people in the world,” he said during a stream. “It’s the anonymity. There’s no punishment.”
Since his YouTube account has been suspended, Toxic’s apology is not longer available for users to see.
Toxic’s apology video serves as a milestone for his personal growth – and a major lesson to those looking to make dehumanizing comments to female streamers.