Popular Twitch streamer Jaime ‘iGUMDROP’ Horan has apologized after she received considerable criticism for allegedly racially stereotyping a random man during an IRL livestream.
Horan was walking down a street with a friend, when the two passed an African-American man minding his own business on the sidewalk. Horan’s friend then took off running, warning the streamer to “hold your purse!”
iGUMDROP followed the example set by her friend, running behind her and laughing. Understandably, the clip garnered significant attention online, and the two were widely condemned for their behaviour, with many denouncing the act as racist.
Horan was live on her Twitch channel on June 8, which has over 125,000 followers, when she became emotional and apologized. “I really fucked up,” she started. “I don’t know why I did that. I just did.”
“I want you guys to know,” she continued. “Anybody who I hurt through that clip – if I watch that clip myself I would have been so hurt by it. There’s not really an excuse for my actions and I don’t want people to defend me for it because I’m just sorry.”
She goes on to explain that she wants to treat the incident as a “learning experience.”
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“I just never want someone to feel that way,” she said, clearly becoming emotional. “Even that guy who was in that clip, I didn’t see that he was on the phone, but what if he – I never want someone to feel so shitty over my ignorance, you know?”
There was a mixed response from Horan’s Twitch viewers, as many found the apology genuine and felt the streamer’s emotions were authentic, and that the main portion of the blame should be directed towards her friend, who initiated the incident.
However, some felt the emotional response was hollow, as the streamer looked to recover from an event which led to widespread backlash.
Similarly, her friend in the video, who many felt was responsible for the incident, has also issued a response, in which she apologizes for her behaviour.
“Most importantly, I want to say sorry to anyone I have offended or disappointed,” she said. She explained that the voice behind her made her nervous, and she ran away and made an “inexcusable comment” about holding on to her purse.
My response pic.twitter.com/12493F9KUF
— Jana l JVNA (@JVNA) June 9, 2019
She argued that she did not look behind her or know who the man was, just that she ran away, and that “none of this has been my intention”.