Indy ‘SPACE’ Halpern has apologized for using a transphobic title on a recent Twitch stream, explaining it was based on lyrics from a Lil Uzi Vert song that he thought was about something else.
It’s a monumental time for Twitch streamers and viewers after the streaming platform announced diversity tags, including one for transgender people, after a widespread movement that involved protests finally paid off.
However, just after that announcement, SPACE, a professional Overwatch player currently playing for the Los Angeles Gladiators, offended fans by titling his stream: “Check my DMs found out she was a man. I can’t dm never ever again.”
SPACE has been using song lyrics in his stream titles for several months now, and this title wasn’t any different. It was taken from the song “That’s A Rack” by Lil Uzi Vert.
However, his fans pointed out the lyric is transphobic in context, and after bringing it to his attention, he apologized and explained he thought it meant something else.
“The title… was a Lil Uzi Vert lyric, which I thought was about him being catfished while DMing someone. After the stream, I became aware it was actually a transphobic lyric which was not my intention at all.
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“I know this hurt people, and that’s on me. I’m sorry to those who were hurt by this and want everyone to know this mistake isn’t a representation of me or the community I’m trying to build when I stream. I’m going to take care going forward to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
Fans commended SPACE for owning up to his “honest mistake.”
Some mentioned they also thought the lyric was about cat-fishing but appreciated the fact he looked into it and took responsibility.
Either way, he’ll almost certainly be a little more cautious about which lyrics he decides to use in his stream titles from now on.
