{"id":1004644,"date":"2026-01-10T06:48:28","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T06:48:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/?p=467037"},"modified":"2026-01-10T06:48:28","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T06:48:28","slug":"why-twitch-banned-asmongold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/why-twitch-banned-asmongold\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Twitch banned Asmongold"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"An
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Zack Hoyt, who goes by Asmongold and ZackRawrr online, is once again at the center of controversy. The content creator, who gained prominence by streaming World of Warcraft<\/em>, has mocked survivors of hurricane Katrina<\/a>, and defended the use of certain slurs<\/a> to his audience. Now, recent comments from Hoyt regarding the ongoing conflict in Gaza have renewed widespread criticism of the creator and resulted in Twitch banning his channel. <\/p>\n

In the wake of an incendiary livestream on Monday, other creators have spoken out against Hoyt\u2019s comments on Palestine, while Hoyt\u2019s own business partners have attested to the dangerous nature of his rhetoric. On Wednesday, Hoyt himself released an apology video to his viewers. But the incident still resulted in action by Twitch \u2014\u00a0here\u2019s why.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Why did Asmongold get suspended from Twitch? <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Twitch typically does not confirm the specific reason behind a ban. However, we know the streaming platform banned Hoyt\u2019s channel the day after a stream where he spoke about the ongoing conflict in Gaza and the Palestinian people. When asked for comment on the ban, a Twitch representative said, \u201cWe take enforcement action when there are violations of our\u00a0community guidelines<\/a>, including our hateful conduct policy and other rules.\u201d<\/p>\n

On his Monday livestream, Hoyt said of the Palestinian people dying in Gaza<\/a>, \u201cI don\u2019t give a fuck. They\u2019re terrible people. It\u2019s not even a question.\u201d In the same rant, he described Palestinians as an \u201cinferior culture.\u201d Online, people called on Twitch to ban<\/a> the channel. On Tuesday, Hoyt\u2019s alternate Zackrawrr channel<\/a>, where he made the comments, was deactivated. At time of publication, the channel was still deactivated and sources familiar with the matter reported Hoyt received a two-week ban<\/a>. His original channel remains active but he has not used it to stream since June 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How did streamers react to Asmongold\u2019s comments on Palestine? <\/strong><\/h2>\n

At the time of Hoyt\u2019s livestream, a number of outlets had reported a finding by U.N. aid agencies that Israel threatened to starve out northern Gaza<\/a>. The reporting came as Israel continued to bomb northern Gaza<\/a> and Lebanon<\/a>, an offensive that has led to the death of 40,000 Palestinians in the past 10 months, according to the Gaza health ministry<\/a>. Earlier this year, a U.N. Special Rapporteur said there were \u201creasonable grounds\u201d to formally label the assault as a genocide<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hoyt\u2019s comments provoked a combination of responses. Some touched on the insensitivity of the comments given current events, while others clowned on Hoyt, who is known for streaming from an unkempt bedroom covered with trash. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s sad is millions of Americans actually believe this about black and brown people outside of the global north,\u201d Daniel Ahmad, a frequent commentator in the game space, said on X in response to the video . (Ahmad\u2019s comment was liked more than 9,900 times<\/a>.) Another person replied<\/a>, \u201c\u2018Inferior culture\u2019 says the guy who doesn’t even wipe his ass.\u201d <\/p>\n

The nature of the comments inspired even those close to Hoyt to speak out. In addition to streaming, Hoyt is a co-founder of the media company One True King (OTK) and PC seller Starforge Systems. Tips Out, chief operating officer of OTK, responded to Hoyt\u2019s comments on Tuesday<\/a>, speaking as the son of Syrian immigrants about his personal history of experiencing prejudice growing up in the United States. <\/p>\n

\n

To many who heard Zack\u2019s comments, the language he used, whether intended or not, wreaked of the same dehumanization that plagued their ancestors, their grandparents, and in some cases, their families today. It is the same language used to justify wanton violence, genocide, and the destruction of our universal brotherhood. It is the same language used to brush off a video of a Palestinian woman and child burning alive as a \u201cprice of war.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The following day, the official OTK account on X announced<\/a> that Hoyt would be \u201cstepping away from his roles\u201d at OTK and other affiliated businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cOTK denounces all forms of discrimination and violence, and that sort of behavior cannot be tolerated,\u201d the account said<\/a>. \u201cYesterday evening, we spoke with Zack and he will be stepping away from his roles at OTK and our affiliate companies Starforge, Mythic, and Mad Mushroom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Has Asmongold apologized for the comments? <\/strong><\/h2>\n

On Wednesday, Hoyt shared an apology video on YouTube<\/a> responding to his comments. In the video, he announced that he would be stepping down from his leadership positions at OTK and Starforge Systems, and expressed remorse at the impact of his comments. <\/p>\n

\u201cI look back at some of the things that I\u2019ve said and done over the past two years, and I don\u2019t think that I\u2019ve been wrong about everything obviously right, but there have been ways that I\u2019ve communicated and ways that I’ve acted, that are indefensible. Looking back on it, it\u2019s just disgusting,\u201d he said.  <\/p>\n

Some online applauded Hoyt for taking accountability<\/a> in his apology, though it\u2019s still too early to see what long-term impact this could have on his work, or if Hoyt will remain apologetic. Within hours of the YouTube message, the streamer followed up with a Reddit post explaining his apology to his viewerbase<\/a>. \u201cI’m not changing anything other than trying to be more positive and less mean-spirited,\u201d he wrote, in a statement that also opened with the R-slur.<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Zack Hoyt, who goes by Asmongold and ZackRawrr online, is once again at the center of controversy. The content creator, who gained prominence by streaming World of Warcraft, has mocked survivors of hurricane Katrina, and defended the use of certain slurs to his audience. Now, recent comments from Hoyt regarding the ongoing conflict in Gaza have renewed widespread criticism of the creator and resulted in Twitch banning his channel.  In the wake of an incendiary livestream on Monday, other creators have spoken out against Hoyt\u2019s comments on Palestine, while Hoyt\u2019s own business partners have attested to the dangerous nature of his rhetoric. On Wednesday, Hoyt himself released an apology video to his viewers. But the incident still resulted in action by Twitch \u2014\u00a0here\u2019s why.\u00a0 Why…<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1004645,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1004644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-polygon"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Twitch banned Asmongold | Arcader News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Zack Hoyt, who goes by Asmongold and ZackRawrr online, is once again at the center of controversy. 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