Several streamers, esports pros and top influencers in the space have been left scratching their heads over Twitch’s bizarre decision to ban words like ‘simp’ and ‘virgin.’
The new policy was first announced on December 16 by Twitch COO Sara Clemens, with plans to come into action on January 22, during the company’s ‘Town Hall’ Twitch stream.
Clemens said: “Using terms like simp, incel, or virgin as an insult to negatively refer to another person’s sexual activity is not allowed under this new policy,” in an attempt to negate the effects of cyberbullying and negative behavior on the platform.
Under Twitch's new policy, words like "simp", "incel", and "virgin" will be considered insults and against TOS 😳pic.twitter.com/aFC3y7Zmvy
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) December 16, 2020
As you can imagine, the wider gaming and streaming community found this particular snippet of information very interesting and, for a large portion, actually rather funny.
Many of the best responses, though, came from those whom it would directly affect, so let’s take a look at what the streamers and influencers think of the ban.
Streamers & influencers react to Twitch ‘simp’ ban
JackSepticEye was one of the first to congratulate Twitch on finally ending toxicity online.
Thank God Twitch finally cured all toxicity online. The great virgin and simp wars are finally over. The land is at peace and nature is healing.
— Jacksepticeye (@Jacksepticeye) December 16, 2020
Meanwhile, top Call of Duty pro Chris ‘Simp’ Lehr had some very obvious issues with the change.
gonna lose full if i have to change my name now cause of twitch and this stupid ass simp meme
— FaZe Simp (@SimpXO) December 16, 2020
Aussie Lazarbeam called out the “incel” who made the decision, adding that “real men simp.”
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REAL MEN SIMP AND I WONT STOP
— LAZAR (@Lazarbeam) December 16, 2020
Jacksfilms is going to have to seriously reconsider his stream themes…
With tears in my eyes, I am devastated to announce that I am canceling Simp Saturdays on my twitch. The fate of Virgin Fridays doesn't look good either
— jacksfilms (@jacksfilms) December 16, 2020
100 Thieves’ Neekolul has realized she’ll need to change up her vocabulary a bit…
Wait is the word simp like bannable if said on stream? O_O I need to find a new word… instead of incel I’ll say manbaby and instead of simp I’ll say KINGS 💯
— neekolul (@neekolul) December 16, 2020
Finally, TimTheTatman took the opportunity to let his good friend NICKMERCS know how he felt about him.
virgin
— timthetatman👑 (@timthetatman) December 16, 2020
So, there’s clearly some confusion over this new Twitch ban — most notably, why they’re even doing it in the first place.
It will be interesting to see how aggressively Twitch administers these new rules when they come into effect on January 22, especially given some of the response to certain bans and suspensions that have occurred in recent months, including the likes of Dr Disrespect and Forsen.
