"It doesn't reflect the Kick I know" - Streaming platform's Partnerships Head refutes allegations made by ex-staff

Andrew Santamaria, Kick’s Head of Strategic Partnerships, took to his official X handle to respond to the ongoing allegations made by a former staff of the company. For context, Melissa "ItsMelissaDude," posted a YouTube video where she alleged that there was a lot of transphobia and racism in the workplace and among employees.

Being among the company's leading figures, Santamaria shared a post, reassuring that the allegations do not "reflect" the company that he is associated with. He wrote:

"I've spent time in the Kick offices, and it doesn't reflect the Kick I know."

One of the heads of the platform refutes allegations made by Melissa (Image via X)

Interestingly, Melissa quickly responded to the post. According to her, she had brought up an incident where an employee had used the N-word. She wrote:

"I never sent you a message regarding the N-word situation and you said you would take care of it? never to speak of it again."

Melissa responds to the post (Image via X)

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Kick's Head of Strategic Partnerships speaks about inclusivity in the Kick streaming community

Kick has recently faced significant criticism following allegations made by Melissa, a former employee. In one of her statements, she claimed that the streaming platform had "decimated" the contract of Jake Future, a disabled streamer on the platform.

Andrew Santamaria, Kick's Head of Strategic Partnerships, has responded to the allegations by stating that all minority groups receive equal opportunities. He said:

"100% minority races and disabled persons and LGBTQIA folks are awarded the same opportunities."

He also spoke about allegations stating that employees do not get to enjoy "family time." Santamaria said:

"My daughter is on the spectrum and she has a lot of challenges. A lot of challenges that I have to take time off for and I love every minute of it and I wouldn't change it for the world."

Watch Santamaria's stream by clicking here (Timestamp: 01:01:50)

He added:

"But I'm also not going to work with an employer who doesn't allow me to take care of my family. So that is something that just did not resonate with me when I was hearing a lot of these things."

He also briefly spoke about a recent issue involving two suspended streamers (Heelmike and Zherka) appearing on other people's streams on the platform. Santamaria said:

"Here's the thing, we have no policy about a banned streamer being on someone else's stream and we are looking at that internally right now."

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Meanwhile, Felix "xQc" has also responded to the allegations. One of the claims was that the streaming platform had approached a terminally ill streamer (thought to be Kyedae) with a low-price offer. xQc refuted these claims during his stream.