Twitch unbans Winnie the Pooh hot tub emote after bikini changed to shirt

Just as Twitch legitimized the hot tub meta by giving it its own category on the site, the Amazon-owned platform has removed a hot tub-themed emote for being too sexual.

Update: May 27 at 12:30 PM EST

Twitch has decided to reallow an emote of Winnie the Pooh in a hot tub after it received a little bit of a makeover with the bikini changed to a shirt.

Streamer Pedguin took to Twitter to reveal that it had been approved by a moderator, but didn’t rule out Twitch eventually deciding to remove it again given the controversy it had originally.

Original story below…

The hot tub meta has taken over Twitch in 2021 with streamers in bikinis broadcasting from pools in their homes and outside.

After months of controversy and much debate over what content was allowed on the site, Twitch decided to make a special category for hot tub and beach streams separate from the Just Chatting section.

Now, despite Twitch’s position on hot tub streams, it has pulled an emote seemingly celebrating them, leaving the streamer who uploaded it completely baffled.

Hot tub emote banned on Twitch

On May 24, streamer Pedguin revealed that his emote featuring a bikini-wearing Winnie the Pooh lookalike in a hot tub surrounded by money had been pulled.

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“My pedTub emote got removed, after twitch MANUALLY approved it,” the streamer explained.

In the attached screenshot, Twitch claimed that it had been pulled for containing imagery of “sexual content or nudity.”

“This baffles me as sexual suggestiveness is a spectrum that involves some degree of personal interpretation of where the line falls, why does Twitch find my pedTub sexual?” he asked, referencing Twitch’s blog post where it defended its policies and position on sexual content.

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Interestingly, this isn’t the only Winnie the Pooh style emote he has had pulled. Another, with the famous cartoon bear foaming from the mouth was removed once again for containing “sexual content.”

Specifically, Twitch notes how “gasm-style emotes” containing sexualized torsos or bodily fluids are not allowed.

Twitch called out for double standards

Other emotes pulled from the streamer’s channel are a tad bit more understandable, such as a “sexy Flanders” Simpsons reference featuring the bear and a censored bar hanging by the character’s crotch area.

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While those may be on the risque side of the emote spectrum, the fact that a hot tub emote isn’t allowed upset some of Pedguin’s fans.

“How can they ban this bear emote when they literally have girls doing this on Twitch?!” one asked while posting a screenshot of Indiefoxx playing in a pool.

“I guess we [need] a new category for emotes, that should sort this out,” another joked.

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Finding the fine line between what is and isn’t acceptable on Twitch has proven to be quite difficult, not just for streamers, but for the platform itself.

Hopefully, this debacle can be dealt with soon, but it should be noted that Twitch doesn’t comment publicly on individual streamer bans or channel issues.