In a recent stream, popular political commentator "HasanAbi" Piker was discussing Pokimane's post about supposedly leaving Twitch and believes that she will stop streaming and not go to another platform. The latter is one of the most popular female creators on the platform and has been the face of Twitch for over a decade.
On January 30, 2024, she made a post on X, stating that her time at the Amazon-owned streaming service was coming to an end, causing fans to speculate about her next move. HasanAbi seems to think that Imane will not be moving to other websites such as Kick or YouTube, but that she will stop streaming altogether.
Reacting to a chat message that insinuated she was leaving, Piker stated in his latest stream:
"Don't know what that means. I texted her, she did not respond. And it's not like she is streaming on Twitch right now, so probably has spare time to reply. So I don't know what's going on. But I suspect that she probably... (reading chat) 'Poki seems like she is quitting streaming together.'"
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He agreed with the viewer and gave his opinion, saying:
"Yeah, I feel like she is not going to go to a different platform to stream. I think she is not streaming anymore. And it makes perfect sense."
"She has been a lightning rod for the worst kinds of harassment": HasanAbi explains why he thinks Pokimane will be quitting livestream content
HasanAbi and Pokimane have collaborated on numerous occasions, and naturally, her post about leaving Twitch made him text her to get answers. However, it seems like she is unable to divulge information to her friends. This makes sense, considering she has already implied that she will address her post on X in her upcoming podcast episode.
While speculating as to what she meant by leaving Twitch, Piker went on to state that livestreaming is not that easy and the parasocial nature of this job takes a toll on creators who have to face cyber stalking constantly. He said:
"It's a sequence of having to withstand endless amounts of cyberstalking and cyber harassment."
After a few minutes of talking about the downsides of streaming on Twitch, at around the 14:40-minute mark of the video above — which is taken from HasanAbi's stream — he directly addressed issues like burnout and the harassment that female creators receive.
He further explained that Pokimane might be an industry giant but has had to deal with constant harassment, saying:
"I understand why a lot of people end up quitting or feeling burnt out. Poki has been at this game for a really, really long time, right? She has been doing this for years. She is an industry giant, a powerhouse. She has been a lightning rod for the worst kinds of harassment and stalking and ritualistic abuse that especially women receive."
When one fan wrote in his chat about the possibility of Pokimane joining YouTube, HasanAbi shot down that idea, saying:
"'Poki might be going to YouTube.' What? I doubt it."
Here are some fan reactions to Piker's take, with many noting the amount of hate some of the streamers receive.
Speculations about Pokimane moving to a rival platform have been prevalent on social media since she announced she might be leaving Twitch. However, fans will need to wait for her latest podcast episode to what the Legacy Streamer will do next.
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