In 2022, a significant Twitch-related controversy unfolded within the community, involving prominent figures Imane "Pokimane," Jidon "JiDion," Tyler "Ninja," and Ninja's wife, Jessica Blevins. This controversy remains a topic of discussion even today, resulting in one streamer receiving a permanent ban from Twitch and another facing legal threats.
The entire saga escalated dramatically when Ninja's wife personally sent a personalized message to Imane, accusing her of defamation against Ninja and hinting at potential legal repercussions. One of her messages stated:
"You are actively bringing harassment to Tyler."
What happened between Pokimane and JiDion? Explaining the drama
The controversy ignited in January 2022, when JiDion, an already-established YouTuber at that time, debuted on Twitch and began streaming. True to his style, he encouraged his fans to prank Pokimane by spamming "L + Ratio" on Imane's Twitch stream.
Her live reaction to the spam messages is still accessible online, with clips of the viral moment spreading rapidly across the internet at the time. She said:
"Do you guys see this? It's weird. Do you guys think that’s another streamer? Or just bots? That’s embarrassing. If you get banned I’m not going to be sad."
However, what JiDion didn't anticipate was that such raids are typically considered harassment according to Twitch's community guidelines. As a result, the streamer swiftly received a 14-day ban which, dramatically turned into a permanent ban. He revealed:
"Ban went from 14 days to a perma (permanent ban). Please use the #twitchfreejidion for me boys."
Initially, one of the primary assumptions made was that Imane had somehow influenced Twitch's decision to permanently ban him, as she mentioned the ban during her reaction to the chat spamming her. However, in a subsequent stream, she denied any involvement.
How did Ninja get involved in the controversy?
In a dramatic twist of events, Fortnite streamer Ninja somehow became involved in the controversy. It started when JiDion reached out to Ninja for assistance in addressing his ban from Twitch. While Ninja stated that he couldn't promise any specific outcomes, he revealed reaching out to his Twitch rep regarding the matter.
In one of the streams, Ninja even implicitly referred to what appeared to be Pokimane as "b*tch." This understandably upset Imane, who then called him out, expressing her feelings by stating:
"Why Ninja would help someone evade a ban for harassing me? I have no idea, maybe to appease JiDion's fans."
In another stream, she said:
"Ninja probably noticed, 'Oh my god! (JiDion's) viewers are the same people that watch me play Fortnite. I can't upset them, I can't stand up against misogyny, that could kill my brand!'"
Ninja's wife threatens to sue Pokimane
The drama didn't end there. On January 18, 2022, days after the initial drama erupted, Pokimane took to her X.com account to disclose that Ninja's wife, Jessica, who also happened to be his manager, messaged her, threatening to sue her over possible defamation. The message read:
"We are considering everything - defamation of character at this point and are getting our legal team involved."
Despite the threatening messages, the drama eventually fizzled out, and no legal action was taken in the end.
As for the controversy surrounding JiDion's ban, he eventually publicly and privately apologized to Pokimane. The two are presently on good terms and have even filmed a video together. However, the streamer remains banned to this day despite the reconciliation between JiDion and Pokimane.
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