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Despite her overwhelming popularity, Imane “Pokimane” Anys is also one of the most disliked internet personalities of recent years.
This might come as a surprise to a range of her fans and new viewers. This is because the streamer has a bubbly, cheerful personality and is one of the first “Just chatting” streamers who grew on Twitch. Regardless, in the initial years, Pokimane was embroiled in a range of controversies and was regularly criticized on the internet.
This was due to several reasons. One of the first controversies was related to copy-strikes she filed against fellow content creators, for which PewDiePie called her out in January 2019. Since then, Pokimane has been involved in several altercations with fellow internet personalities. This factor has played a crucial role in drawing the ire of several fanbases.
Pokimane is a controversial streamer despite her cheerful personality
Initially, Pokimane came under scrutiny for her rigidness regarding content creators using part of her content. YouTuber Bowblax published a comedic YouTube video poking fun at the argument Pokimane had with Drama Alert host Daniel “Keemstar” Keem.
After Pokimane copyright claimed Bowblax's video, PewDiePie published a follow-up titled “STOP DOING THIS,” in which he urged Pokimane to stop copy-striking creators who talk about her.
YouTuber "Fainted” was another who published a scathing video titled "The Dark Side of Pokimane." Fainted highlighted the moment Pokimane said on stream that she planned to take down videos from a Twitch compilation channel because they included her. She eventually heeded PewDiePiew’s advice but was adamant about her right to copy-strike videos that are not “transformative” in nature:
“The reupload of the Twitter beef, wasn’t transformative content, so I was able to get it taken down through my MCN. But, PewDie was in the right – trying to hide all that drama, only ended up bringing more attention to it.”
She further elaborated on her position by saying:
“In those specific scenarios I will take down videos – when it’s a straight reupload of my stream, and when it’s like a gross and misleading title. That was an entirely different situation, where I was well within my right to take down his content, but I shouldn’t have had that conversation on stream.”
An even greater controversy followed this. Keemstar, one of Pokimane's most vocal critics on the internet, accused her of lying about her "single" relationship status.
In May 2020, Keemstar published tweets claiming that the streamer had a boyfriend, contrary to what she told her fans. Keemstar called Pokimane "fake and pathetic." He added that she hid the truth to keep getting the same amount of attention from her fans.
In June 2020, Pokimane lashed out against a smaller YouTuber called “ItsAGundam,” who had posted a video making fun of her “simp” fans. In retaliation, Pokimane attacked ItsAGundam’s sponsors and encouraged her fans to leave negative feedback on the video.
However, ItsAGundam had the last laugh in the beef and published another video titled “Pokimane Gets Exposed & Skips Town.”
When Calvin "Leafy" Lee Vail was suspended after posting several videos criticizing Pokimane, her fans, and the fact that she lied about having a boyfriend, Leafy was permanently suspended from YouTube and Twitch. Pokimane and her fans were then criticized for mass-reporting Leafy, something she denied doing.
ItsAGundam's video was in response to Pokimane's break from social media. The break itself was said to result from the controversy and the fact that she was being criticized daily on the internet.
Eventually, Pokimane published an apology video around August 2020. She apologized for the DMCA takedowns and that she used the “N-word” towards the beginning of her career multiple times. She claimed that she always wanted her private life to be separate from her work-life.
Regardless, the apology received a mixed response, with quite a few people claiming that the streamer deserves to be “canceled” for her attacks against smaller content creators. Finally, the biggest controversy involving Pokimane is tied to Federico “Fedmyster” Gaytan.
In June 2020, Fedmyster was accused of sexual misconduct by fellow Offline TV members Yvonne “Yvonnie” Ng and Lily “Lilypichu” Ki. Pokimane claimed that Fedmyster had manipulated her as well. It was a reason why she was forced to leave the Offline TV house.
In November, a leaked document written by Fedmyster was circulated on the internet. The document claimed that Pokimane had a good relationship with Fedmyster but "threw him under the bus” when the allegations came out.
Fedmyster also claimed that Pokimane wanted Yvonnie to be fired. Regardless, Pokimane was accused of laughing away the allegations and was criticized for lying about various aspects of their relationship.
Pokimane responded with a Twitchlonger post in which she shared evidence of Fesdmyster’s manipulative behavior. However, the internet wasn't entirely on her side, which seemed to be an amalgamation of all the controversies she had been involved in since 2019.
The social media break that began around August 2020 has ended. So far, Pokimane has steered clear of controversies and has widened her content’s scope. The streamer has a cheerful personality and spends hours engaging with her audience routinely.
Despite being one of the biggest internet personalities today and arguably the biggest female streamer of all time, she remains one of the most polarizing content creators.
Disclaimer: This article reflects the opinions of the writer.
