Former MMORPG streamer Zack “Asmongold” Hoyt was banned from Twitch after making difficult comments. Many praised his apology on YouTube, but the streamer painted a different picture with a post on Reddit.
What’s the deal with the apology? On the night of October 14, 2024, Asmongold made inhumane comments about the Gaza War in a stream on Twitch, which resulted in an outcry on social networks and ultimately a ban from the streaming platform.
The streamer then published a 20-minute video on YouTube in which he apologized for the comments and discussed his plans for the coming period:
The video received more than 2.4 million views within a day. Many on social networks considered it authentic, the apology seemed sincere, especially compared to other influencer apologies – or Asmongold’s own original apology on X, which included a succinct “My mistake”.
However, a post on the streamer’s subreddit raises doubts about Asmongold’s change of heart.
Asmongold says he has always been “an asshole,” but in recent years it has gotten out of hand.
Twitch streamer Asmongold says: “Stop watching streams at 3 a.m. if you don’t have any money!”
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Streamer claims to be reformed, but things look different on Reddit
What kind of post is this? On his subreddit, Asmongold published a post titled “Why apologize?” In which he reiterated that he had become increasingly hostile and negative and that this was creating a bad mood in his streams.
However, the streamer then explains that when he returns he will not play Dustborn, an indie game that some content creators have massively focused on. He also won’t advertise the consulting company Sweet Baby Inc., which he and others have blamed as a supposed “woke company” for the death of games.
The decisive sentence then comes in a comment under his post. “No worries. “I will respond to a DEI = DIE gaming video on my first day back on stream,” the streamer promises a viewer (via Reddit).
DEI stands for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. However, the abbreviation is a loaded term in the culture war in the USA and is used in the context of discussions about “wokeness”.
These statements from Asmongold can be understood to mean that the Twitch streamer has no intention of deviating from the content with which he has attracted increasing negative attention over the past two years. For example, when he reduced a 26-year-old’s victory in the streamer of the year vote to the fact that she was a woman.
Viewers are disappointed: “Just a better actor”
How is this discussed? On X, formerly Twitter, there is anger and disappointment over the Reddit post. One user writes soberly: “It only took 2 hours until my assumption that he would be a little less of a shithead turned out to be wrong. Well, you can’t blame me for giving him a chance.”
One user responds: “I thought his apology was refreshing… But no, he’s just a better actor than others.” (via X)
However, others are calling for us to wait and see how Asmongold will actually behave when he returns. Twitch streamer Pirate Software wrote in response to a screenshot of the Reddit post: “Pretty harsh stuff and honestly just more of the same flailing behavior. The video was a much more humble and thoughtful approach. I’m excited to see how this all plays out when he gets back. It’s up to him to improve.” (via X)
Asmongold’s Twitch channel has been suspended for 14 days, Kotaku reports. We probably won’t find out exactly how the streamer will design its content in the future until the end of October. For many viewers who received the apology video well, the statements on Reddit are likely to leave a bad aftertaste.
For Asmongold, the involuntary break is now an opportunity to put his life in order, because – as he himself says – things have been going wrong there for a long time. Just a few weeks earlier, the streamer spoke about his past in a surprising video and explained why he is the way he is.