LoL streamer banned on Twitch for making Hawk Tuah joke

A League of Legends streamer was banned on Twitch midway through a broadcast for making a Hawk Tuah joke while in-game.

If you aren’t aware of the Hawk Tuah meme, let’s get you up to speed. Stemming from an interview with TimandDeeTV, Hailey Welch saw herself shoot up to mega virality as her response to a question became a widespread phenomenon.

As the meme became a cultural sensation, it was only natural for it to be used in jokes outside of TikTok, where it initially went viral.

But how about getting banned because you referenced it as a joke on Twitch? Well, that’s the situation an ex-pro LoL player just found himself in.

Clip starts at 6:35

On September 19, Pobelter was given a ban on Twitch. The reason? He made a Hawk Tuah joke and was subsequently banned mid-stream.

“I was playing Ryze and split pushing and said “Hawk Tuah, split on that lane”… now I’m permanently banned from Twitch five minutes later,” Pobelter said. “Hawk Tuah ruined my life.”

Going into the VOD, we can see his stream abruptly cut 16 minutes into the broadcast as he was waiting in queue. The joke is, as he describes it, saying “It’s time to Hawk Tuah, split on that lane” as he went on to do a split push, much to the cringe of his entire chat.

Luckily for Pobelter, the ban was quickly reversed, Twitch reversing it just an hour after his channel was taken down.

“I’m free,” he tweeted in response. “Thank you to everyone who supported me through these trying times. I will never say Hawk Tuah again,” he said jokingly.

Of course, it’s hard to know if Pobelter really was banned for saying the joke since Twitch rarely ever states the reason for a banning. But perhaps it’s funnier to believe he really did get banned for it rather than anything else on the day.