Controversial on-stream moment shows a Runescape Twitch streamer, who is partnered on the platform, tell a supposedly suicidal person: “I think you should just kill yourself.”
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The streamer, known as ‘Aus_Swag’ on Twitch, is asked by a friend to call an apparently suicidal woman to give her advice and support.
However, when the streamer makes the call, he instead simply states “I think you should just kill yourself”, before he and others in the call burst into laughter.
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The relationship between the the streamer, Aus_Swag, and the supposedly suicidal person, is unknown.
The livestream from which the controversial clip was taken, along with the rest of the VOD are no longer available on Twitch.
Twitch didn’t take long to take action, banning Aus_Swag, but the clip has spread online, sparking outrage at his comments.
One user wrote “absolutely reprehensible behavior”, and others suggested he should be banned from the platform.
Twitch users quickly flocked to Aus_Swag’s channel following the spread of the clip, and Aus_Swag was seen in chat spamming laughing emotes, and even promoting Twitch Prime subscriptions.
There have been previous examples of Twitch streamers giving out highly questionable advice to vulnerable people, including a widely publicized story of streamer JScubby saying he would “dare” his friends to commit suicide.
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In another similar incident, League of Legends coach Saintvicious was released from his position with FlyQuest after stating on stream that he believed depression and anxiety were “made up excuses”.
UPDATE:
Aus_swag has issued a statement for his actions and subsequent ban on Twitch.
In his apology, Aus_swag linked a video containing a clipped conversation with the troubled person in which he asks if she remembered him making the comment, to which she said no.
His apology included a $200 donation to the Beyond Blue non-profit organization that aims to address mental disorders associated with depression, anxiety, thoughts on suicide and more.
The apology has left many to doubt its sincerity, as it was made after the fallout of the consequences that the streamer received from Twitch and his sponsors.
“Doesn’t matter if you muted yourself saying it, you still said it to get a laugh from your scummy friends. Might want to uninstall that Runescape app now you’re banned,” YouTube user Toby Paterson wrote in response to the video.
Both his video and his Twitter apology have been met with extreme public disapproval.
