Twitch star Imane ‘Pokimane’ Anys has hit out at “disgusting” comments she received on Twitter as a result of a joke that fellow streamer ‘Fitz’ allegedly made about a fictitious relationship between the two of them.
Pokimane is one of Twitch’s top streamers and a massively popular influencer — but being in the limelight isn’t always sunshine and roses, as evidenced by the drama that has unfolded after another content creator made a joke involving her.
While Pokimane has stated in the past that she is decidedly keeping her relationship status under wraps, it seems that any mention of her involvement with another man in the streaming space is enough to send the internet into a tizzy.
YouTuber and podcast host Cameron ‘Fitz’ McKay allegedly made a “joke” involving Pokimane, which he cleared up in a Reddit post explaining the issue.
According to Fitz, he’d come across a Reddit thread speculating that he and Pokimane were in a relationship, as a result of fellow streamer Fedmyster’s Google document. Finding the fan theories ridiculous and hilarious, Fitz commented “ding ding ding, we have a winner” as a joke — but it clearly didn’t come across as intended.
“My point is, I saw the post, I laughed, and I provided a response that in my mind was obviously a joke,” Fitz explained. “Unfortunately for myself and for everyone else involved, my attempt at comedy didn’t seem to register with the members of this subreddit, and with the wider community on twitter.”
Somehow, Fitz’s “joke” caused a number of sexist and hurtful comments to be slung toward Pokimane as a result, who hit out at the abuse on twitter with a series of screenshots.
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“I’ve received an insane amount of disgusting/sexual comments and speculation because of a joke Fitz made (which he later apologized for),” she wrote. “We never dated, but even if we did, NO ONE deserves to be sent this.”
The comments in question included a horde of accusations regarding Pokimane’s alleged relationship with Fitz, as well as a number of sexist insults.
i've received an insane amount of disgusting/sexual comments and speculation because of a joke Fitz made (which he later apologized for).
we never dated, but even if we did, NO ONE deserves to be sent this. pic.twitter.com/FZDA7cIE8o
— pokimane (@pokimanelol) December 8, 2020
It seems that the comments section has not made much of an improvement, in this regard, with Pokimane’s statement receiving an equal amount of hatred; but plenty of fans have spoken out in support of the distressed streamer.
This is far from the first time Pokimane has received criticism for something similar; the star became the subject of intense criticism after YouTuber ‘LeafyisHere’ claimed that she’d been hiding her relationship from donators, insinuating that those donators gave her money for the chance of a romance with her.
While Anys made it very clear that she has no intention of making her love life public, it seems that this issue is one that continues to crop up in spite of her efforts to squash the drama.