Popular Twitch streamer Louis ‘LosPollosTV’ Sammartino has been handed a 24-hour ban from the platform, reportedly after showing a scene from the movie Super Size Me on a broadcast.
The streamer, who once set the record for the longest ever livestream at 195 hours, confirmed the length of the suspension on Twitter on May 27.
Although Twitch does not publicly disclose the cause of bans, viewers of his stream suggest that it was after a scene in the 2004 film ‘Supersize Me’ briefly showed a prostate exam taking place.
According to one viewer, Sammartino “was literally watching supersize me a McDonald’s documentary that’s [rated] PG and a dude was getting a medical exam. The doctor checked his rectum.”
The ban has caused some controversy over Twitch’s consistency with punishments for community guidelines violations. It’s less than a week after Imane ‘Pokimane’ Anys escaped a ban for showing “inappropriate” content, due to a prank from a troll.
On Twitter, the streamer confirmed that it was only a 24-hour ban, but explained that he had more serious matters on his mind, revealing that his former girlfriend had been diagnosed with cancer, and asking everyone to keep her in their prayers.
Only a 24 hour suspension, it’s ok… But that’s the last thing on my mind right now, my ex gf just got diagnosed with cancer… I’m in shock… I fuckin love that girl.. Please send some prayers, I can’t process this rn
— Los 🍇 (@LosPollosTV) May 26, 2020
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Twitch under fire for inconsistency
The precise cause of LosPollosTV’s ban cannot be verified, but Twitch users have criticized the platform on the understanding it was due to the Supersize Me clip.
“People are questioning why he got banned for this and Pokimane showed p*** without any punishment,” one user said. Another replied “This is what we mean. Poki doesn’t get banned and we say okay as long as that’s the new standard but NOPE. Not even a week later…”
Another user offered a possible explanation for Twitch’s action; that they may have felt obligated to ban the account simply to remove the offending material. “The most serious offense about this situation in Twitch’s mind is continuing to host material that violates TOS on your account, thus forcing them to suspend your account to remove it themselves.”
Twitch says that it always takes context, as well as past behavior into account. But, this is not enough of an explanation for fans whose favorite streamers appear to get harsher treatment than others.