Breaking down Pokimane’s 2022 so far: Twitch ban, boyfriend drama, and more

Imane “Pokimane” Anys has had an eventful time as a streamer, and she has already been involved in multiple controversies in 2022.

The streamer was initially romantically linked to a friend named Kevin, who had featured during a late December 2021 livestream. This was followed by Pokimane getting banned on Twitch for violating DMCA copyright laws by watching Avatar: The Last Airbender series during a Twitch stream.

Finally, this was followed by Imane being at the receiving end of a “hate-raid” after fellow streamer Jidion instructed his chat to harass her Twitch viewers. Poki was forced to quit her livestream in the middle and has received support from most of the internet in recent days.

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Pokimane’s 2022 is off to a whirlwind start after multiple controversies

First and foremost, the Twitch streamer was linked romantically with a close friend named Kevin. Kevin featured in the streamer’s livestream towards the end of December. Imane’s community has always been obsessed with her relationship status. The streamer’s friend Kevin also featured in some of her other recent videos, leading to rumors about the two of them being together.

After being constantly linked with multiple fellow creators, including Hasan “HasanAbi” Piker, the rumors might actually serve as a respite for the streamer. This is simply because fans might stop shipping her with other personalities if they believe she already has a boyfriend.

However, her relationship status has proved to be the least of the streamer’s worries. Imane became one of the multiple creators who have been banned in recent weeks after watching DMCA-able content. The new Twitch meta, where creators watch TV series such as MasterChef US, has brought forth a lot of scrutiny in recent weeks.

Pokimane watched the American anime series Avatar: The Last Airbender during a recent livestream and was subsequently hit with the ban hammer. The creator later posted on Twitter claiming that the ban was justified and that she would return after 48 hours. As a result, Imane was unbanned on January 10, 2022.

During a livestream on January 12, Imane and her viewers were on the receiving end of a hate raid from Jidion’s viewers. The raid was a result of Jidion and his viewers being convinced that Imane acted in a stupid manner by livestreaming the anime series. Pokimane was forced to quit her streaming in the middle after claiming that she didn’t want her viewers to go through the same negativity that she was used to.

Overall, the internet responded by supporting her. People claimed that quite a few other creators had also been involved in the new meta, most notably HasanAbi and Felix “xQc” Lengyel. However, it was only Imane who was attacked. Most of her fellow creators thought that the raid resulted from misogyny.

Regardless, Pokimane will not be too concerned. She recently made her Twitter account private, which means that only her followers will see her posts on the platform. The streamer can put down the recent incidents as hazards of the job. Imane is still the most influential female creator on the internet and will be looking to move on quickly.