Prominent Twitch streamer ‘Sweet Anita’ says there’s “no moving on” from the damage caused by inappropriate deepfake materials of herself and other female broadcasters that came to light last month.
In January, Twitch streamer ‘Atrioc’ accidentally showed a tab he’d opened on a website that sold inappropriate deepfakes of female streamers, including popular broadcaster Sweet Anita. The site was instantly noticed by viewers and a clip from his stream went viral on social media.
Although Atrioc apologized for the incident and has stepped away from content creation for the time being, the ordeal sparked a wave of backlash against the website and those who consume such content, with streamer QTCinderella promising to sue the creator of the platform in a tearful livestream.
However, there were also a significant portion of online users who mocked QT’s statement and even claimed to find the situation amusing, including names like Destiny and Ethan Klein (who later apologized for his reaction).
Since then, the site has been taken down, but the streamers affected by it are continuing to speak out about the effects of non consensual materials that were peddled by the page — including Sweet Anita.
Sweet Anita not angry with Atrioc over deepfake controversy
She addressed the website in an interview with ITV News on February 13, saying that although she has no ill will toward Atrioc, she still wants those who consume such content to understand its impact on those whose images are being used without their permission.
“None of the anger, none of the wanting to do anything about this is directed towards him [Atrioc],” she said. “It’s literally about wanting people who make this kind of content to A) not profit from it and B) be genuinely terrified to do it.”
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That being said, she’s well aware that the damage created by such a website will never go away.
“Frankly, you can change the law, but the law won’t change anything until the culture does,” she continued. “Right now, resoundingly, we’re seeing that a lot of people don’t know what ‘consent’ means. And a lot of people feel entitled to anyone’s body on the internet.”
“There isn’t any moving on from it. This is just out there, forever now. This is just an extra aspect that I will have to deal with.”
Anita’s comments follow another statement made by QTCinderella about the situation, who says that her previous friendship with Atrioc is now “irreparable” after the incident.
