"This situation makes me feel disgusted, vulnerable, nauseous, and violated" - Maya releases a statement following the deepfake controversy

On February 1, 2023, Twitch streamer Maya Higa took to Twitter to issue a statement in response to the recent deepfake debacle. She recalled a harrowing incident in 2018 and compared it to the recent controversy, saying that she had been used by "hundreds of men for s*xual gratification" without her consent.

Maya also mentioned founding the non-profit animal sanctuary, Alveus Sanctuary, when she was 22 years old and that she has since raised more than $1 million.

The streamer went on to say that she has "created zero s*xual content" on Twitch over the course of her career, and yet her face was "stolen." The Twitter address concluded with Maya stating:

"This situation makes me feel disgusting, vulnerable, nauseous, and violated - and all of these feelings are far too familiar to me. This is not your debate. Stop acting like it is."

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Twitch streamer Maya addresses the community following the deepfake controversy

The Twitter update posted on February 1 began with Maya recalling an incident in 2018 before saying that the "world" was debating the validity of her experience:

"In 2018, I was inebriated at a party and I was used for a man's s*xual gratification without my consent. Today, I have been used by hundreds of men for s*xual gratification without my consent. The world calls my 2018 experience r*pe. The world is debating over the validity of my experience today. The debate over our experience as women in this is, not shockingly, amongst men. None of you should care or listen to what any male streamer's "take" is on how we feel."

Maya discussed Alveus Sanctuary in the next section, stating that she hasn't created any s*xual content in her three-year online career:

"I founded a non-profit animal sanctuary at 22 years old. I have raised over $1 million for conservation work at 24 years old. I have created zero s*xual content in my three years on Twitch. Despite this, my face was stolen so men could make me into a s*xual object to use for themselves."

The streamer continued further, saying:

"If anyone doesn't think it's a big deal that MY NAME is in headlines where thousands of people are commenting on the s*xualization of MY BODY against MY WILL, you are the problem."

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Online community reacts to the streamer's statement

Several prominent personalities reacted to Maya's statement on Twitter and here are some of the most relevant ones:

A conversation thread about the content creator's statement went viral on the r/LivestreamFail subreddit, garnering more than 1,500 comments in just a few hours. Here's what the Reddit community had to say:

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Twitch streamer Blaire "QTCinderella" also addressed the controversy during an emotional broadcast on January 31. After explaining why she decided to talk about the situation on a livestream, the Streamer Awards host revealed that she would be taking legal action against the streamer deepfake website.