Popular streamer Asmongold has been banned from Twitch following controversial statements made about Palestinians regarding the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.
Last night, Asmongold made incredibly controversial comments that have incensed Palestinians. During the stream, Asmongold commented on the ongoing war in Gaza, claiming that Palestinians practice an "inferior culture in all ways," and that he has no sympathy for Palestinians being killed in the Middle East.
This has led to one of Asmongold's accounts being banned from Twitch--the zackrawrr account has been affected. "This channel is temporarily unavailable due to a violation of Twitch's Community Guidelines or Terms of Service," reads the banner.
Below is a quick transcription of what Asmongold said during the stream:
"If you want to consider a genocide as a systematic killing of a group of people they have genocide built into Sharia law right now. So no, I'm not going to cry a fucking river when people, who have genocide that's baked into their laws, are getting genocided," he said.
"I don't give a f*ck, they're terrible people. It's not even a question. It's crazy that people don't see it that way. They'd be doing the same thing.
"These people are not your allies. They are not the same as us. They come from an inferior culture that is horrible, it kills people for their identity, and it is directly antithetical to everything Western values stand for, and is an inferior culture in all ways. It is that simple.
"No, I don't feel bad for them, I don't feel sorry for them, I don't care. I don't support them."
Asmongold has since apologized for the outburst, saying:
Looking back on it, I was way too much of an asshole about the Palestine thing
My bad. Of course no one deserves to have their life destroyed even if they do things or have views I find regressive
You guys deserve more than me saying stupid shit like that, I'll do better.
A quick glance at Twitch's Community Guidelines reinforces why his account has been banned:
Twitch does not permit behavior that is motivated by hatred, prejudice or intolerance, including behavior that promotes or encourages discrimination, denigration, harassment, or violence based on the following protected characteristics: race, ethnicity, color, caste, national origin, immigration status, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, serious medical condition, and veteran status.
Expressions of contempt, hatred, or disgust based on a protected characteristic.
- Statements that a protected group should not exist
- Statements dismissing an entire group, e.g., "I don't like [protected group]"
- Statements that a protected characteristic is repulsive or disgusting, or causes sickness, e.g., "[protected group] just make me want to vomit"
Create speech, imagery, or emote combinations that dehumanize or perpetuate negative stereotypes and/or memes.
- Black/brown/yellow/redface
- Content that perpetuates a recognized negative stereotype about a protected group as greedy or unintelligent
- Content perpetuating negative associations between an animal and a protected group, or comparing a protected group to animals that are perceived as inferior or unclean
- Content comparing a protected group to insects, pests, parasites, filth, or diseases/viruses
- Content suggesting that protected group members are sub-human, inhuman, or impure
- Content insinuating that individuals with certain protected characteristics are criminals or terrorists
- Referring to a protected group as property or things
- Intentionally referring to someone using a pronoun or form of address that does not correctly reflect the gender with which they identify, such as repeating incorrect pronouns after being asked to stop