To their surprise, Twitch streamer AngelBePlayin received a notice that their Twitch channel had been banned indefinitely, citing the reason as violent hate speech.As Twitch was one of the streamer's primary sources of income, this came as a devastating shock, especially since they had not streamed in the last two days. They then took to Twitter to get answers from Twitch on why exactly they were suspended since the streamer had no idea when they would have spewed the alleged hate speech.vyrus | angel@AngelBePlayincan anyone pls assist me? my twitch account was just randomly banned when i haven’t streamed in over two days. i’ve never used hate speech in my life. i’m literally panicking because this is a part of my income. anyone? @TwitchSupport11:10 AM · Jan 9, 2022706222can anyone pls assist me? my twitch account was just randomly banned when i haven’t streamed in over two days. i’ve never used hate speech in my life. i’m literally panicking because this is a part of my income. anyone? @TwitchSupport https://t.co/wMdfwJeOMzHate speech or joke? AngelBePlayin argues their case against being indefinitely banned on TwitchAfter posting this initial tweet, Angel then discovered why they were banned. It was a message they had sent in a friends chat, where they joked about "destroying more heterosexuals" in the video game Mario Kart.vyrus | angel@AngelBePlayinthe message i was banned for was because i had just won mario kart and wrote “now that i’ve won i have to take my leave and destroy more heterosexuals” 🤨 like in the game…11:25 AM · Jan 9, 202227012the message i was banned for was because i had just won mario kart and wrote “now that i’ve won i have to take my leave and destroy more heterosexuals” 🤨 like in the game… https://t.co/erYzWCG7zMThe supposed hate speech in question here was the line "destroy more heterosexuals," being said in a joking manner when talking about winning more races in the game. The reason cited angered Angel, who then went on a rant about the injustice of the ban, saying that they had received hate speech on Twitch and the staff had done nothing about it:"Twitch taking action to defend straight people and banning my channel when they have ignored and left their BIPOC and Queer creators to deal with a ridiculous amount of hate speech time and time again is RIDICULOUS???"Twitter users showed they're supportive of the streamer's predicament, agreeing that a permanent ban is an overreaction on Twitch's part.AndyMacster@Andy_Macster@AngelBePlayin @pinot_no1r @TwitchSupport THAT gets you banned indefinitely?I had a streamer tell me to die in a fire for being gay and then WENT LIVE right after and that is somehow the same level of severity?@Twitch hello? Are you okay, hun?4:17 AM · Jan 10, 2022722@AngelBePlayin @pinot_no1r @TwitchSupport THAT gets you banned indefinitely?I had a streamer tell me to die in a fire for being gay and then WENT LIVE right after and that is somehow the same level of severity?@Twitch hello? Are you okay, hun?Modest ~COMMISSIONS OPEN~@modeststroke@AngelBePlayin @TwitchSupport @Twitch @TwitchSupport you need to fix this asap, this was uncalled for and this ban needs to be lifted. I have seen SO many horrid comments about the LGBTQ+ community that go ignored but THIS you choose to ban???? Please fix this.1:27 AM · Jan 10, 20226@AngelBePlayin @TwitchSupport @Twitch @TwitchSupport you need to fix this asap, this was uncalled for and this ban needs to be lifted. I have seen SO many horrid comments about the LGBTQ+ community that go ignored but THIS you choose to ban???? Please fix this.kaceytron@kaceytron@AngelBePlayin this is beyond stupid. twitch always says "context matters" but it doesn't.... they gotta protect all the white men straights that do 90% of the harassing and hate speech on their site to begin with.10:33 AM · Jan 10, 20222@AngelBePlayin this is beyond stupid. twitch always says "context matters" but it doesn't.... they gotta protect all the white men straights that do 90% of the harassing and hate speech on their site to begin with.☕️ ELA@TheCafeEla@AngelBePlayin @TwitchSupport indefinitely?? Hello @TwitchSupport ??? You preach diversity and inclusion on the outside and then ban people for harmless stuff like that?!? in an INGAME CHAT out of all places? HONESTLY incomprehensible. Please fix this!!!8:48 AM · Jan 10, 20228@AngelBePlayin @TwitchSupport indefinitely?? Hello @TwitchSupport ??? You preach diversity and inclusion on the outside and then ban people for harmless stuff like that?!? in an INGAME CHAT out of all places? HONESTLY incomprehensible. Please fix this!!!One user related the situation to Pokimane's latest ban, specifically how she was only banned for 2 days, leaving many people annoyed that she wasn't disciplined more harshly by Twitch.Sassie@sassiecas@AngelBePlayin @TwitchSupport and yet poki out here breaking the law which can include but is not limited to 250,000 fine and prison time but only gets a 2 day ban >.> i'm sorry you are having to deal with this and I hope it gets fixed <38:30 AM · Jan 10, 20226@AngelBePlayin @TwitchSupport and yet poki out here breaking the law which can include but is not limited to 250,000 fine and prison time but only gets a 2 day ban >.> i'm sorry you are having to deal with this and I hope it gets fixed <3The situation does have a strong point in favor of Twitch, and that's how the message was still sent, regardless of intention. Twitch took its steps to reduce hate speech on the site, and it seems that this was deemed as such on base value.However, banning Angel outright with no warning or given reason is an overstep on Twitch's part. There should have been proper communication over the issue, and a chance to let Angel give the needed context or reasoning for their words.KORMA@KARMAENVY@AngelBePlayin @TwitchSupport Huge overreaction from Twitch and worth lessening to show both their sympathy and willingess to admit fault.But humorous hate speech is still hate speech.9:24 AM · Jan 10, 20221@AngelBePlayin @TwitchSupport Huge overreaction from Twitch and worth lessening to show both their sympathy and willingess to admit fault.But humorous hate speech is still hate speech.MonriaTitans - The Weekend Game Show@BEmpowering@AngelBePlayin While f'ed up it happened, people need to be careful what they write.The written word is taken at face value because we can't see the face of the writer to read if they're joking.But with the context of the message being caught in the clip, @TwitchSupport please look into this.8:39 AM · Jan 10, 20221@AngelBePlayin While f'ed up it happened, people need to be careful what they write.The written word is taken at face value because we can't see the face of the writer to read if they're joking.But with the context of the message being caught in the clip, @TwitchSupport please look into this.Brendan@BraviaryBrendan@AngelBePlayin @TwitchSupport Ngl it sounds like this was taken out of context. I’d personally contact Twitch support here, explain the context, and say why you think the permanent ban was unreasonable: help.twitch.tv/s/contactsuppo…8:41 AM · Jan 10, 20221@AngelBePlayin @TwitchSupport Ngl it sounds like this was taken out of context. I’d personally contact Twitch support here, explain the context, and say why you think the permanent ban was unreasonable: help.twitch.tv/s/contactsuppo…This situation could be beneficial to the streamer, as it is quite apparent that people support them during this hardship, and hopefully, those people will continue to support them should their channel be reinstated. If their channel does become unbanned, it is more likely to grow because of the ban, as shown by plenty of streamers having massive turnouts to their first stream back after a ban.So it seems like this attention to the issue will more than likely push Twitch into reconsideration over the ban, and if they do overturn their decision, Angel will hopefully be better off from the stressful situation.Note: This article reflects the writer's personal views.