"Manosphere, Red Pill" Streamer Pokimane Reveals Why She Left Twitch

Popular streamer Pokimane shocked the internet when she announced that she was leaving the live-broadcasting platform Twitch in late January. 27-year-old Imane Anys (Pokimane's real name) ended her 10-year contract with the Amazon-owned platform, saying, "Twitch has been my home for a decade...but it's time to thank you for all the memories and love." Earlier this week, she opened up about why she felt the need to leave the platform despite having millions of fans rooting for her. On her podcast, 'Don't Tell Anyone', she cited Twitch's lack of gender diversity, which she felt was regressing even more lately.

Anys, who has been one of the very few female streamers on Twitch, said that the platform is becoming increasingly regressive due to "the rise of so much manosphere and red pill bullsh*t." She continued, I feel like that stuff has flourished within the male-dominated live-streaming sphere".

Imane Anys: A New Chapter

Imane Anys said that she wanted to separate herself from Twitch because of the toxic masculinity being spread by fellow streamers. She added that many big-name male streamers encouraged bigotry and 'manosphere' on their platforms. 'Manosphere' is an online community that originated on Reddit and promotes masculinity and opposes feminism.

Anys described her experience as a streamer on a male-dominated platform. "It's hard for me to exist in an industry and community and watch that shit happen and act like it's no big deal, to see it be normalised - the kind of bigotry and shit-spewing and just so much stuff that I frankly don't agree with. There's no point expressing your opinion to people that you're never gonna change anyways," she expressed.

What an incredible journey it’s been. We’re so proud of everything you’ve accomplished and what’s ahead in the future.

You’ll always have a home on Twitch, Poki 💜

— Twitch (@Twitch) January 30, 2024

Announcing her journey aside from Twitch, Anys said, "I’ll just be spreading myself out a little bit and I am so excited to, for the first time ever, stream on YouTube, stream on TikTok, stream on Instagram. “I could literally sit on Instagram and talk sh** for an hour now and I’ve never been able to do that before." Ending the podcast, Anys said, "I want to feel free to participate in whatever seems fun to me,” she said towards the end."