Pokimane doubles down on never signing to “insane” Kick

Streaming star Pokimane is making it very clear she’s “never” joining Kick, citing the “insane” behavior allowed on the platform as a reason why she won’t take a deal with the site.

Imane ‘Pokimane’ Anys is known for her status as one of Twitch’s most-followed streamers. However, she decided against renewing her exclusive contract with the company in January due to its “messy” moderation issues.

Despite this, Poki has also maintained that she isn’t keen on taking a deal with one of Twitch’s prominent rivals — Kick. She’s been adamantly against signing up with the site due to its affiliation with online gambling platforms and the kinds of content that are permissible there.

She doubled down on this stance in an August 2024 livestream, where she reacted to a YouTube video dissecting the behavior of Kick streamer Tomer Lawton. In the video, Lawton was accused of engaging in inappropriate behavior with underaged girls, which he purportedly streamed live on Kick.

As she was watching through the hour-long expose, one of her viewers jokingly asked if she would ever consider signing up with Kick.

“Did you just hear what he just said?” Anys replied. “…is this not straight-to-jail behavior, or am I insane? That’s gotta be illegal, no?”

Lawton is far from the only Kick streamer who’s come under fire for his actions. Other names like Johnny Somali and Jack Doherty have also become infamous online figures due to the types of behavior they exhibit during their broadcasts on the website.

For instance, Somali found himself in Japanese prison after trespassing on a construction site and making racist remarks toward locals in the country, while Jack Doherty has also engaged in dangerous behavior like hitting baseballs off the roof of a building.

While Kick itself has introduced new measures to help better moderate “problematic” content on its platform, the site continues to face criticism due to streamers like Tomer Lawton — something that pushes mainstream content creators like Pokimane away.