[jwplayer Y7PB7YwV]On June 18, Twitch star Imane ‘Pokimane’ Anys defended her actions after she called out the sponsor of content creator ‘ItsAGundam.’ The popular streamer hit out at the YouTuber after he jokingly called her fans “simps” in a video in May.
During a May 16 broadcast, Pokimane launched into a rant against YouTuber ItsAGundam after he mocked her fans. The streamer hit out at the company that sponsored him, and criticized them for putting their name behind a video that “talked s**t” on her for over 20 minutes.
The Twitch star received backlash for her actions from some viewers who were upset that she went after another creator’s sponsorship deal. However a month later, the personality defended her actions, and explained why she thinks calling out companies for who they back is sometimes justified.
Pokimane defends herself after sponsorship backlash
The streamer had just announced her clothing brand partnership with YouTubers Jacksepticeye and Markiplier when her controversy with ItsAGundam was brought up in the comments. Responding, the Moroccan-Canadian argued that it’s okay to go after sponsors depending on the content. “I don’t condone going after someone or their sponsors simply [because] you disagree with them or [because] you dislike them…I also think content that spreads lies, misinformation, and insults based on their looks shouldn’t be sponsored,” she tweeted.
In a second tweet, she followed up by stating that the size of the Gundam’s channel was irrelevant, and that content like his can be damaging for both the subject being made fun of and their fans. “That sort of thing can traumatize people/fans + cause a lot of unnecessary hate. I understand if you disagree with my stance, but this is just my opinion, as you are allowed to have and share yours.”
Her post immediately sparked backlash from users such as ‘hiimmrci’ who argued that her rant against the YouTuber sent her fanbase to “attack his video, channel and sponsors.” Replying, the Twitch star exclaimed, “Have you ever considered the hate I get from videos that call me a th*t for no reason / lie about my fans? I specifically tell my viewers to not attack others.”
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ItsAGundam himself reacted to her defense on June 20, and was confused by her claims that he had “lied” about her. “So now I made the video to lie on her? she keeps spinning the narrative…I admitted my mistake, I made the video to laugh at funny tweets,” he said.
After users pressed the Twitch star further about her saying the YouTube personality had lied, she clarified what her issue with the clip was. “The tweets he showed were blatant jokes/memes and he created a whole false narrative around it. They’re not real [people] going homeless from donations. I didn’t watch the full video and I’m not inclined to considering what I’ve already seen,” she tweeted on June 19.
The popular streamer then told her followers that she had no desire to speak further on the issue, and reiterated her stance on the whole on the incident. Gundam has not commented further, except for a tweet that joked “Poki NOOOOo people were forgetting!”
Regardless of where you fall on the topic of content creators calling out sponsors, it has become a heated issue within the community lately. In May, both YouTubers Ethan’ h3h3′ Klein and Daniel ‘Keemstar’ Keem had sponsorships dropped after the companies were brought up in their feud.
Despite the backlash, Pokimane continues to be a dominant force on Twitch. At the time of writing, the star has amassed over 5.1 million followers to her channel. In June, she announced that she’s moving out of the OfflineTV house to live with some of her close friends.
