- A
Twitch streamer has faced backlash for her comments that anyone watching her channel can afford the subscription fee. - "It doesn't matter how broke you are. If you have time to watch Twitch, you have $10," InvaderVie said. "If you don't have $10, you probably don't have time to watch Twitch, because you should be working, you should be trying to earn money."
- The streamer added that $5 or $10 doesn't equate to the cost of a full meal, and called viewers who can't afford to subscribe "irresponsible" with money.
- InvaderVie's comments come on the brink of a worldwide economic crisis due to the coronavirus.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
A popular Twitch streamer is facing backlash after criticizing her viewers for being too poor to subscribe and support her channel, and suggesting that anyone without $5 or $10 to spend is "irresponsible."
InvaderVie, who has 144,944 followers and lives in Toronto, according to her Twitch channel, asked her viewers in an April 14 broadcast to pay the full subscription price for her channel for $4.99 per month. Viewers can watch certain clips without paying the subscription fee, but InvaderVie argued that anyone should be able to afford the fee and support her in her job as a creator. She said she believed that in any currency, the maximum fee would be $10.
"It doesn't matter how broke you are. If you have time to watch Twitch, you have $10," said InvaderVie, whose real name has not been made public. "If you don't have $10, you probably don't have time to watch Twitch, because you should be working, you should be trying to earn money."
When someone commented that they were unemployed and all of their money had to go towards necessities like food and shelter, she doubled down, adding that she didn't believe her comments were offensive. "No one's going to convince me that what I'm saying is so rude, or so unacceptable, or so outrageous. It just simply isn't," she said.
The streamer, who is 29 and works as a voice-over actress part-time in addition to Twitch, added that $5 or $10 doesn't equate to the cost of a full meal, so she wasn't asking for much, and said that viewers who claim to be too "broke" to subscribe are actually "irresponsible" with their own finances. "What you mean to say is, 'I'm so irresponsible with my money, I can't support the entertainment that I enjoy.'"
InvaderVie's comments come on the brink of a worldwide economic crisis due to the coronavirus, as unemployment rates in the US approach Great Depression levels.
While some viewers commented during the stream that they were also broke and there were "no excuses" for not subscribing to the channel, others complained about the statements in comments on Twitch and on Twitter. Another streamer asked on Twitter if InvaderVie pays for a full subscription to every streamer she watches.
—Preston (@Prestinni) April 18, 2020
Others joked that they were "too irresponsible" to be able to watch the streams.
—Ariel Camacho (@DarkWareA) April 19, 2020
InvaderVie's controversial comments come as influencers and celebrities have faced backlash for making out-of-touch posts and gotten preferential treatment in an environment of heightened need and anxiety.
At press time, the streamer did not respond to emails from Insider.
- Read more:
- IMF chief says its forecast that 170 global economies will shrink may be too optimistic
- US jobless claims skyrocket to 6.6 million, doubling last week's record, as coronavirus layoffs persist
- A body painter says she was wrongfully suspended from Twitch for nudity despite the platform's rules providing exceptions for art
- Popular YouTuber RiceGum hosted a Twitch livestream that seemingly got him banned for nudity and called out by his ex-girlfriend