xQc claims Minecraft stars ‘abuse’ stan culture: “It makes them feel empowered”

Felix ‘xQc’ Lengyel claimed Minecraft streamers “feel empowered” from their cult-like followings, implying that it could be the reason why they don’t discourage fans from ‘stanning’ over them.

The Minecraft YouTuber fandom has seen its fair share of criticism recently, whether it be Dream’s or someone else’s.

Charlie ‘MoistCr1TiKaL’ White called out those stans for being “toxic” and “unhealthy” after Minecraft streamer TommyInnit revealed he needed to seek therapy after fans attacked him on social media.

However, that view didn’t sit well with xQc.

He disagreed with Cr1TiKaL’s view that there are a “lot of things” Minecraft streamers can do to discourage bad behavior from their fans, including a “blanket statement” telling them to stop “stanning” at all.

Instead, he believes they ultimately don’t want to because they “feel empowered” from having a passionate and dedicated fanbase behind them, which he believes is the “real problem”.

Twitch: xQc

xQc believes Minecraft streamers get a kick out of leading their fanbases.

“It’s not about their fandom or their admiration,” said xQc.

“It’s about the feeling of power when they do something. It’s about seeing the impact of what they do that actually causes something. Because whatever they do in real life… amounts to nothing, and they have no power.”

“[For that reason,] whenever they tweet or they re-tweet [something and cause a stir], they can feel that they’re moving pieces somewhere, somehow, and it makes them feel empowered. I think that’s the real problem.”

For lack of a better term, ‘stanning’ — the practice of being an overzealous or obsessive fan — has been a hot topic for a while now.

However, it appears to be more prevalent in the Minecraft scene, especially after #CancelDreamStans trended in March 2021, which prompted him to call out a small sect of “horrible” fans.

There have been many other incidents involving Minecraft stans since then, too.

So, while most people want streamers to play a more active role in stamping out the toxic behavior from their fans, xQc insists the real issue is keeping streamers’ egos in check once they develop massive followings.