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Matthew "Mizkif" has found himself in the middle of what will likely end up as the largest controversy on Twitch in 2022. The OTK co-founder inserted himself into the recent scandal surrounding Twitch streamer Sliker, who allegedly scammed friends, fans, and fellow streamers out of money to support his gambling habit.
Mizkif, who has been vocal about his feelings regarding gambling streams on Twitch, made a post on Twitter and called for a ban on gambling. His fellow OTK co-founder Zack "Asmongold" made a similar tweet on September 19, calling on Twitch to ban Sliker for using the platform to commit acts of fraud.
Popular gambling Twitch streamer Tyler "Trainwreck" responded to Asmongold's post by attacking Matthew, saying he was going after gambling streams out of insecurity and later accusing him of orchestrating a cover-up for an associate who'd committed sexual assault.
Since then, details supporting Trainwreck's claims have come to light, with others sharing their negative experiences with Mizkif in the past. In light of the situation, OTK has announced that Mizkif has been placed on leave while a contracted third party performs an investigation into the matter.
Mizkif on leave following accusations of covering up sexual assault and racism
The popular streamer found himself at the center of his own controversy following his calls for Twitch to ban gambling in the wake of the scandal surrounding another streamer. Sliker was accused of scamming $200,000 out of viewers and fellow content creators, using the money for sports betting.
When Asmongold made his tweet, wishing Twitch would ban Sliker, Trainwreck had this to say in response:
Following a reply from Miz, which was subsequently deleted, Trainwreck accused him, as well as his ex-girlfriend Maya Higa, of covering up an act of sexual assault committed by one of their associates.
Later, Twitch streamer AdrianahLee came forward to share her story regarding the allegations, accusing streamer CrazySlick of sexually assaulting her at a party in 2020 while she was unconscious. She also replayed a clip of Mizkif talking about the situation, describing it as "not a big deal." Presently, Mizkif and Maya stand accused of trying to downplay the situation afterwards, attempting to talk Adrianah out of making the matter public.
Following the revelation, Asmongold took to his stream to give his thoughts on the situation surrounding the OTK co-founder, saying that he hated Miz and would cut ties with him if he didn't distance himself from Slick. He also said that he wanted CrazySlick to "die," doubling down on his stance in a since-deleted VOD. Here's what he said:
"I f****** hate you, I hope you die. I hope you f****** die."
Following all of this, CrazySlick allegedly sent farewell messages to his friends before going missing. Many, including Mizkif, were in fear that something terrible had happened to him. Miz pleaded with anyone with information on his whereabouts to come forward in his offline chat. CrazySlick was found safe shortly after.
Before making a name for himself as a streamer, Mizkif was a cameraman for his friend Paul "Ice Poseidon." For the uninitiated, Ice Poseidon was permanently banned on Twitch following an incident where he accidentally leaked information about a flight he was boarding on stream, falling victim to an anonymous bomb threat. He took to Twitter after the allegations against Mizkif surfaced, leaking messages in which the latter repeatedly used racist and homophobic slurs.
After all of these allegations, Mizkif posted a TwitLonger. In it, he apologized for the previous statements he made defending CrazySlick and also for the slurs he'd used in his texts with Ice Poseidon, saying that neither represents how he currently feels. He also said that CrazySlick has been asked to move out of their house as soon as possible and confirmed that he is taking a leave of absence as OTK conducts an investigation into the allegations.
Mizkif issues apology after returning to livestreaming
Earlier this year (on January 3, 2023), Mizkif took to YouTube to address the community, after he returned to livestreaming in October 2022. He took accountability for his actions, calling them "embarrassing" and "absolutely unacceptable":
"Now that the investigation is over, I would like to address my embarrassing comeback stream in October. My behavior on that stream was absolutely unacceptable. I communicated almost everything terribly and I was completely tone-deaf to such a serious situation. And I am so sorry for how I acted, it was completely insensitive."
Continuing further, he apologized to s*xual assault victims and stated that he had learned from the situation:
"I want to apologize to everybody, but especially to the victims of s*xual assault. The way I behaved was horrible and I will be better. And I will learn from this situation. I want to be better not only for myself but for my audience."
Mizkif added that he hoped his influence would be positive:
"I want my influence on this world to be positive, and I don't want anybody to deem the way I acted in that first stream as acceptable or okay. Because it was not. I could talk about how I'm going to do everything differently, but I'd rather prove it to you guys through better behavior overall and better content."
Since then, the 28-year-old personality has been livestreaming on his channel on a regular basis. He has also resumed hosting OTK-affiliated game shows, with the season premiere of Parasocial airing on April 16, 2023.
