Twitch streamer Asmongold has issued an apology on social media for comments he made during a stream on the population of Palestine, admitting what he said was “stupid.”
During a livestream on Monday, October 14, Asmongold gave a short explanation of his views on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
He stated that he would not “cry a river” for the people killed in the region, because “they come from an inferior culture” that is “directly antithetical to everything western values stand for.”
His comments were quickly condemned by many viewers, as well as numerous fellow streamers.
100 Thieves streamer Brookeab called on Twitch to take action against Asmongold, describing the comments as “straight-up racism.”
This is just straight up racism @Twitch @TwitchSupport do something
— brooke (@brookeab) October 14, 2024
YouTuber Haix said that Asmongold’s comments should fall under Twitch’s rules against “Violent Hate Speech”, tagging Twitch and Twitch Support.
Asmongold apologizes
Late on October 14, Asmongold posted a response to the backlash on X/Twitter.
“Looking back on it, I was way too much of an a**hole about the Palestine thing,” he began. “My bad.”
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He added, “Of course no one deserves to have their life destroyed even if they do things or have views I find regressive.
“You guys deserve more than me saying stupid shit like that, I’ll do better.”
Looking back on it, I was way too much of an asshole about the Palestine thingMy badOf course no one deserves to have their life destroyed even if they do things or have views I find regressiveYou guys deserve more than me saying stupid shit like that, I'll do better
— Zack (@Asmongold) October 15, 2024
The reception to his statement remained critical, however, with some accusing it of being a PR move, and not a genuine apology.
typical PR post from the OTK execs
— zephiK (@zephiK0) October 15, 2024
Others called on him to say “I’m sorry” directly, rather than only, “my bad.”
Twitch streamer Hasan also spoke directly with Asmongold on a broadcast, to challenge his view.
He advised Asmon to become more educated on the subject before addressing it, specifically by speaking to real people with knowledge and experience of the conflict.
At the time of writing, Twitch has not taken any action against Asmongold’s account. OTK, the organization Asmongold co-owns, has not addressed the controversy publicly.