TWITCH has axed one of its most popular emotes following dangerous comments made by star of the image.
Streamer Ryan “Gootecks” Gutierrez, whose wide-eyed face features in the PogChamp emote, encouraged his Twitter followers to continue the “civil unrest” after violent protesters stormed Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
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What is the PogChamp emote and why has Twitch axed it?
Emotes are icons or images specific to Twitch that viewers use to communicate with or react to something they’re watching.
One of the platform’s most popular emotes in PogChamp – an image of an excited man with his eyes wide and mouth open.
It’s used by Twitch fans to express shock, surprise, or excitement.
The man in the image is Ryan “Gootecks” Gutierrez, a fighting personality based in Los Angeles, California.
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On Wednesday, Gootecks landed himself in hot water with a series of alarming comments made about violent protests in Washington D.C.
Hundreds of Trump supporters had just stormed the Capitol building as lawmakers met to certify the results of November’s election.
One woman who was shot by police during the confrontation later died in hospital.
Gootecks wrote on Twitter: “Will there be civil unrest for the woman who was executed inside the Capitol today or will the #MAGAMartyr die in vain?
“The video will be aired soon on (banned dot video) & (theresistance dot video) and it sounds pretty gruesome.”
The professional Street Fighter player’s reckless comments sparked outrage on social media.
Twitch later said in a statement that it had removed the PogChamp emote due to Gootecks’ attempt to “encourage further violence”.
What has Twitch said about the ban?
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Twitch explained its reasoning for removing the emote in a series of Twitter posts on Wednesday.
“We’ve made the decision to remove the PogChamp emote following statements from the face of the emote encouraging further violence after what took place in the Capitol today,” the streaming platform said.
“We want the sentiment and use of Pog to live on – its meaning is much bigger than the person depicted or image itself– and it has a big place in Twitch culture.
“However, we can’t in good conscience continue to enable use of the image.
“We will work with the community to design a new emote for the most hype moments on Twitch.”
Who is ‘Gootecks’ – the face of the PogChamp emote?
Ryan “Gootecks” Gutierrez is a influencer best known for his work as a professional fighting game player.
Based in Los Angeles, the Street Fighter whizz has 70,000 Twitter followers and hosts and plays at competitive gaming events.
Gootecks is also the founder of a website designed to help people improve at fighting games.
The 37-year-old is an avid Trump supporter and has previously used his platform to spread misinformation about the Covid-19 pandemic and the legitimacy of mail-in ballots during the 2020 US Presidential election.
What happened at Capitol Hill?
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Violent protests erupted in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, with hundreds of protesters storming Capitol Hill in unprecedented scenes.
The riots erupted after Trump told supporters to prevent President Elect Joe Biden’s election win being certified: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol.
“And we’re gonna cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women. And we’re probably not going to be cheering, so much for some of them, because you’ll never take back our country with weakness, you have to show strength and you have to be strong.”
As the protestors charged into the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi’s office, lawmakers were evacuated and staffers ordered to take emergency bags with food, water and gas marks as they fled the building.
Mr Trump posted on Twitter, urging protestors to stay “peaceful” but stopped short of telling them to leave.
He said: “I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence!”
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Trump eventually released a video telling those that sieged the building to “go home” – as he still made unbacked claims of fraud and told demonstrators they were “special”.
Meanwhile, the vice-President Mike Pence told anyone involved in the protests to head home.
At least four people died during the riots, including a Trump-supporting military veteran who was fatally shot by police.
Following the dispersal of the protestors hours after they breached Capitol Hill, Mr Trump chillingly told “patriots” to “remember this day forever”.
The outgoing US President’s reckless actions were condemned by political leaders across the globe.
Home Secretary Priti Patel slammed Mr Trump for making comments which “directly” led to the violence.
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Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Ms Patel denounced the US President for egging on protestors who forced their way into the Capitol, smashing glass and running freely through building.
She blasted: “His comments directly led to the violence and so far he has failed to condemn that violence, and that is completely wrong.
“Let’s be very clear in terms of the scenes in Washington, and the display of violence, (Trump) has made a number of comments that helped to fuel that violence.”
She added: “I just think there is no scope for violence whatsoever, and it’s just appalling in terms of what we’ve seen.
“America needs to move on, and have the transition (to the next President) that is absolutely essential – and the type of transition that America is famous for.”
Twitch – the world’s biggest streaming site explained
Here’s what you need to know…
- Twitch is a website dedicated to hosting livestreams watched by millions around the world
- The platform is owned by Amazon and largely focusses on video game livestreams
- However, content creators also upload clips of themselves creating artwork or music, or simply having a chat
- Twitch boasts more than 15million daily active users watching clips streamed by around 3million creators
- Its creators make money through a mix of paid subscripions, advertising revenue and donations from viewers
- Some of the site’s biggest earners make millions every year, largely through sponsorship deals with big brands
- Twitch is worth an estimated £3billion
- Its biggest competitors are Microsoft-owned streaming platform Mixer, YouTube (which is owned by Google) and Facebook Live
A woman has died after being ‘shot in chest’ in Capitol building after Congress was stormed by protestors
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In other news, Twitch superstar Dr Disrespect mysteriously disappeared from site last year.
Twitch recently banned streamers from showing bums and underboob on its platform – but said cleavage is allowed.
And, some streamers on the site are allegedly making £4,000 a night by filming themselves sleeping.
Have you ever tried Twitch? Let us know in the comments!
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This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
