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Andrea Botez of the popular chess streaming duo "Botez sisters" had set the stage for quite the drama after claiming that Hikaru had sent them a cease and desist letter for using his cardboard cutout on stream. New information has come to light after the chess Grand Master went live on Twitch and revealed DMs which show that Andrea was not being truthful.
Hikaru Nakamura, the popular chess streamer and GM, vehemently denied any possibility of sending a legal notice to the Botez sisters and called the whole situation absurd. It appears Andrea Botez had used the word cease and desist wrongfully in light of the recent drama surrounding Logan Paul and Dillon Danis. Addressing the backlash he received after Andrea talked about the letter, Nakamura said this on stream:
"She saw Dillon Danis talk about Logan Paul sending him a cease and desist or something and she thought it was funny or whatever, but it's just absolutely absurd. Because I literally never even talked to them, that's how ridiculous this is."
Hikaru also explained that he has been dealing with other legal proceedings, possibly referring to the lawsuit from Hans Niemann about the cheating scandal, including chess legend Magnus Carlsen. The streamer also stated he had little interest in the cutout often used by the sisters in their stream:
"I haven't even spoken to them [Botez sisters] and I've been dealing with other legal stuff. Thinking that I would have any interest in..."
"I genuinely apologize": Andrea Botez privately apologized to Hikaru and said her statements regarding cease and desist about the cardboard cutout were a joke
For those out of the loop, popular chess streamers Andrea and Alexandra Botez have a cardboard cutout of fellow content creator and Chess Grand Master Hikaru. The prop is used as a running gag on social media and during streams. The drama started after a clip of Andrea Botez saying they got a cease and desist letter for using the cutout went viral on social media.
In the clip, fellow Swedish chess streamer Anna Cramling asked where the Botez sisters had managed to get the cardboard cutout, which is when Andrea mysteriously said that she cannot talk about it because:
"We got a cease and desist"
Considering a cease and desist letter is an official and legal document, a violation of which makes the offending party liable to punitive damages, the news immediately caught the attention of viewers. The chess community was up in arms, with many calling out Hikaru for doing so.
While addressing the backlash after he went live, the Grand Master revealed there was no cease and desist letter and that Andrea Botez had privately apologized to him. Hikaru went on to reveal the DM that was sent, which indicates Andrea did not know what a cease and desist letter means. A relevant part of the message reads:
"I genuinely apologize, I was being sarcastic / joking around and thought a cease and desist is just a term meaning being asked to take something down... I'm going to clear it up first thing in the morning on stream and it's completely my bad... I will be more cautious in the future and will try to avoid putting you in such situations."
Social media reactions
Redditors of r/LivestreamFail had much to say on the matter, with many accusing Andrea Botez of feigning ignorance about the implications of the term "cease and desist." Here are some general reactions:
Readers may be interested to know that Hikaru is one of the first Twitch streamers to sign a deal with Kick and is definitely the most prominent chess streamer on the up-and-coming platform.
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