The livestreaming service Twitch has found itself in the midst of a backlash after a video surfaced on social media depicting a popular streamer, Emiru (real name Emily-Beth Schunk), being assaulted by a rogue fan during a TwitchCon meet and greet. The footage showed the man charging towards Schunk, visibly recoiling as her personal security guard rushed to push him away.
With over two million followers on Twitch, Schunk, 27, is a popular cosplayer who blasted the platform's handling of the alleged assault in a statement. "Yesterday, the man who assaulted me was allowed to cross multiple barriers at TwitchCon and even in front of another creator's meet and greet to grab me and my face and try to kiss me," she wrote.
Schunk claimed that while her own security reacted, there were at least 3 or 4 other TwitchCon security staff in the area who did not intervene and let the assaulter walk away. "The security in the clip who reacted is my own security...However, there were at least 3 or 4 other Twitchcon security staff in the area who did not react and let the guy walk away," she said.
Twitch responded in a statement on Saturday, stating that they would boost security measures by adding additional personnel and bar attendees from bringing any plus ones to TwitchCon. "We immediately blocked this individual from returning to the TwitchCon premises, and they are banned indefinitely from Twitch, both online and in-person events. We are coordinating with the impacted creator’s team and, per our standard protocols, continue to cooperate with any law enforcement investigations," the statement read.
However, Schunk called the company's statement a "blatant lie," claiming that the assaulter was not immediately caught or detained. "He was allowed to walk away from my meet and greet, and I didn’t hear he was caught until hours after he attacked me, and it felt like this only happened because of my manager pressing for it, not because Twitchcon staff present thought it was a big deal," she wrote.
The content creator added that she is "obviously shaken up" by the ordeal and plans to press charges against the man. She also claimed that Twitch is planning to suspend the man from the streaming platform for a month before possibly ruling on an indefinite ban.
The shocking incident follows several concerns voiced by female streamers about their safety at TwitchCon events, particularly after the murder of Japanese streamer Airi Sato, who was stabbed to death by a follower on a Tokyo street in March. "I don’t feel irrational about it. I feel very scared," one streamer, QTCinderella, said on a podcast episode last month.
