Who is ZilianOP? Looking back at the Twitch streamer caught allegedly faking disability

ZilianOP was an ideal type of a problematic streamer. In a recent YouTube video titled "The Streamer Who Faked A Disability For Donations," Australian commentator YouTuber SunnyV2 reminded the internet of the rise and fall of Angel "ZilianOP" Hamilton, busted in 2013 for faking his disability for clout. Watch the 10-minute summary video below:

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The rise and fall of Twitch streamer ZilianOP

Prior to losing his platform, the World of Warcraft streamer had gained notoriety as a wheelchair streamer within months after first creating his account in 2012. He claimed that he had been in a deadly car crash the previous year and essentially lived a life of lies to farm donations from sympathetic fans.

But on a fateful day in 2013, Angel's world would eventually come crashing down. On April 5, the streamer was (unknowingly) clipped, rising from his wheelchair and walking away with ease. After realizing his stream was still live, he ran back to his computer to turn the webcam away.

However, multiple instances foreshadowed this moment in history. In January of that same year, ZilianOP's social media pages were hacked and spammed with incessant messages implying that the hacker knew his truth. On his Facebook page, the header was mysteriously changed to an image with the slogan, "Gamer fakes disability to get donations!"

(Image via SunnyV/YouTube)

In the YouTube video, it was stated that the Twitch Partner was permabanned from the livestreaming platform for fraud:

"The Twitch broadcaster, Zilianop, did indeed have his channel closed and his partnership contract terminated on the basis of fraud."

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Fans react to the recent development

Many fans praised SunnyV for his video, thanking him for bringing awareness to the issue again. They also commented on how the community had forgotten about the incident. Everyone can use the refresher.

(Image via SunnyV/YouTube)

Others continued to sympathize with ZilianOP, citing that the streamer was not necessarily lying about being physically disabled, only its extent. Many felt that the reality of the situation was quite tragic but also wished that the streamer had been more honest about his condition.

(Image via SunnyV/YouTube)

Even the YouTuber who created a video titled "The Return of ZilianOP: Twitch's Biggest 'Fraud' Comes Clean" in 2020 commented on the matter, giving a more in-depth look into the actual story.

(Image via SunnyV/YouTube)

The entire interview can be seen below:

The fallen streamer has since rebranded as ItsBlooish and continues his path as a content creator on YouTube.