Yesterday, Twitch suspended an account belonging to a streamer and celebrity YouTuber Zach “Asmongold” Hoyt after he made racist remarks about the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza. Now, the YouTuber has responded to the temporary ban, offering a surprisingly clear assessment of the controversy and what caused it.
“I really don’t want to beat around the bush or, ‘Oh, I’m not trying to defend or promote [the genocide]”,” he said during the interview. A new 20 minute long video Regarding this issue. “I said some disgusting things.”
In a recent Twitch streamHoyt mentioned the war in Gaza and how he “doesn’t care” about the civilians killed by Israel, adding that Palestinians belong to an “inferior culture in every way.” The comments were edited and shared widely online and were harshly criticized by many viewers and other streamers. Twitch later banned Hoyt’s zackrawrr channel, one of his two main accounts on the Amazon-owned platform. According to reports two weeks.
Hoyt responded to the comments on X (formerly Twitter) but stopped short of issuing a full apology. However, in his new YouTube video, he refutes these comments in stronger terms. “I’m criticizing religious extremism, and I’m almost trying not to differentiate between those two things,” he said. “I’m an asshole every time I classify everyone in this area into a group like that, I’m an asshole.”
Hoyt, a lifelong atheist, said that while he opposes religious fundamentalism, his generalizations are wrong. He continued:
You know who contacted me and they wanted to talk to me and see if I was okay? he continued. “How humiliating it is for those Islamists and those people who have fucking family in Palestine, it’s absolutely humiliating and I feel like a fucking stupid person before I can say that these people are bad people. bastard.
He also sought to place the racist comments within the larger context of the trajectory of his career and the toxic online streaming culture that has consumed his life over the past two years. “I slowly turned into the meanest – I don’t even know the word – just the most mean, rude, callous, psychopathic version of myself,” he said. “I look back at some of the things I’ve said and done over the past two years, and I don’t think I was obviously wrong on everything, but there were some ways I communicated and the way I was. My behavior was untenable. feet.
Hoyt, who initially broke out in the game world of warcraft, has a long track record Stirring toxic emotions around certain games. just last month he hinted This variety ruins some games. Now he plans to stop streaming so much to “improve my damn life.”
This includes removing himself from the media company he co-founded, One True King (OTK), and its related projects for the foreseeable future. When the Twitch ban ends, he said he’ll be back, but the focus will be on funny content rather than being “mean.” Hoyt also said he planned to visit the Middle East at some point, while saying cleaning out his notoriously filthy bedroom was “contrition” for his recent online behavior.
It’s unclear how much of the extended film was purely damage control, just another part of the content creator’s cycle of influence, or a genuine attempt to consider his actions and responsibilities. “I’ll see you soon,” he says at the end of the video. “I’ll try to find time to work on my issues.”
Updated October 16, 2024 at 4:10 pm ET: Hoyt explained this in a post on Reddit’s Asmongold subreddit following the video. Apologize directly to his followersstated that while he was sorry for the specific incident involved, he would not abandon other polarizing discussions surrounding the game.
“The atmosphere and feel of the live stream has been more tense lately, and it’s largely my fault,” he wrote. “If you think this means my first live broadcast will be dustbourne and promote Sweet Baby, I think you will be very disappointed. I wouldn’t change a thing other than trying to be more positive and less mean. This is a reference Strong opposition to the “anti-wokeness” of independent games This resulted in Developer receives death threats.
“Take a break,” one commenter responded. “We Chuds will be here for you to make streaming great again.” Hoyt responded: “Don’t worry, I’ll be back on the air on day one reacting to the DEI=DIE game video.”
Updated October 16, 2024 at 2:20 pm ET: Added more background information on Hoyt’s latest film.
