Twitch streamer and YouTuber Erik “Gronkh” Range will be involved with the game “Hogwart’s Legacy” for work. The action RPG takes place in the Harry Potter universe and will be released on February 10th for PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch. A debate has been raging about the game for months, whether it can be played and shown or whether it should be boycotted because of statements by the author J,K, Rowling. Gronkh has chosen not to have this discussion. This earns him a place in the German Twitter trends.
Gronkh was on a twitch stream that appears to have been quite a while ago. There the 45-year-old commented on “Hogwarts Legacy” and how he deals with it.
Although the stream is older, a clip was cut from it just a few days ago and then circulated on Twitter, where it provoked such violent reactions that the hashtag “Gronkh” was trending on German Twitter on the morning of February 2nd.
What did Gronkh say exactly? In the Twitch clip that is circulating, Gronkh says:
Arguments not against JK Rowling, but for – And there’s a whole list of points that I think she said… And it’s… I just don’t care. I don’t care Am I a bad person if I don’t care about JK Rowling? Does she have to play a role in my life? Is this important to me? And please don’t email me about it.”
How does Gronkh intend to handle the game? From what appears to be the same Gronkh Twitch stream, there’s another clip where Gronkh says he won’t boycott Hogwarts Legacy, but will play and show it.
He wants to use all donations that come in during the streams to support certain organizations. That is much more purposeful.
Author of Harry Potter becomes a stimulus figure on the Internet
Why is the topic so sensitive? Harry Potter author JK Rowling has been vocal about transgender issues since 2019:
These views have drawn her harsh criticism from sections of the trans community. She is described as a “radical anti-trans feminist”.
In a June 2020 essay, she set out her point (via jkrowling): She says, among other things, that she receives a lot of approval for her views, is badly insulted when she expresses herself differently on the subject and is portrayed as transphobic. According to her, many women are now afraid of “trans activists.”
In the months following her esasy, her statements on Twitter became visibly more provocative.
GameStar has dealt extensively with the topic: “Why do some want to boycott Hogwart’s Legacy”.
The Harry Potter author has scathingly responded to calls for a boycott of the new Hogwarts Legacy game
In March 2022, Hogwarts Legacy was already critically discussed
In March 2022, an article by Jessie Earl appeared on the GameSpot site addressing “Harry Potter” author JK Rowling’s “anti-transgender” stance.
In the article, the author concluded that she cannot support Hogwarts Legacy. If you buy the game, you support JK Rowling. However, the author declined to call for a boycott of Hogwart’s Legacy because doing so would only draw more attention to the author.
In Germany, the discussion was driven by the Twitch streamer Shurjoka, who called for a boycott of Hogwart’s Legacy on the occasion of the English article on Twitter:
Now that the release of the game is getting closer, the topic is being discussed again on Twitter and has become even sharper in tone.
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Some Twitter users consider Gronkh’s statement ‘transphobic’ and ‘disgusting’
How is Gronkh’s statement received? Gronkh’s statement has been sharply criticized by some Twitter users.
We’re talking about:
What is striking, however, is that all of these tweets intended to signal disapproval of Gronkh receive relatively little approval on Twitter. The tweets have 45 or 64 likes.
A German Twitch streamer calls for a boycott of Hogwarts Legacy
Major Twitch streamers defend Gronkh
Many big Twitter users, including Twitch streamers, defend Gronkh, and their endorsement gets significantly more likes.-
YouTuber Dennis Werth in particular speaks out extensively for Gronkh and his character. He has known Gronkh for 13 years, he is cosmopolitan, committed to positive things, and is doing such an important project with Friendly Fire (twitter).
All of these influencer tweets get four-digit likes and lots of approval.
Even a critic says it’s absurd to call Gronkh transphobic
What do the critical influencers say? Twitch streamer Shurjoka is critical of the topic of Hogwarts Legacy (twitter) and advocates a boycott of Hogwart’s Legacy. With Gronkh, however, she cannot agree with some of the criticism.
She says it’s absurd to insinuate that Gronkh is anti-trans. But finds it understandable that those affected by the bubble are disappointed. The statements are also difficult for them to understand.
Shurjoka emphasizes that the criticism of Gronkh does not come from any haters, but from parts of their own community or colleagues who are disappointed.
Is this a shitstorm against Gronkh? No, it doesn’t look like it. The vast majority of comments support the Twitch streamer in his view.
When asked if he’s a bad person, few seem to answer “Yes, he is.”
The protest against Hogwart’s Legacy also showed up on Steam:
Steam: Users Tag New Harry Potter Game With 7 Bad Tags – “Anti-Semitic, Transphobic, WWII”