The former queen of Twitch, Pokimane, turned 28 and received an extraordinary gift for her birthday: a bouquet of dollar bills. However, when she presented this bouquet playfully on TikTok, she found herself in the crosshairs of a current movement: Blockout 2024.
This is Pokimane:
- The streamer Imane “Pokimane” Anys originally came from League of Legends but became successful in 2017 with Fortnite content. At that time, the gaming scene on Twitch professionalized thanks to the “Amazon Prime” subscription. Pokimane dropped out of her chemical engineering studies and became a full-time streamer.
- For a long time and still today, Pokimane is the only woman at the top of Twitch and among streamers with the most followers. She made sure not to sexualize herself like other streamers, such as Amouranth. Nevertheless, she has been criticized for having men falling for her, becoming “simps”, and donating money in hopes of getting her attention.
- The time when Pokimane was exclusively seen on Twitch ended in January 2024. She herself stated that Twitch had become too toxic for her – perhaps also after her “cookie” affair. While she continues to stream on Twitch, she can now also be seen on other platforms.
Pokimane lacks sensitivity in her social media post
This was her appearance: On May 14, Pokimane received a gift for her 28th birthday: a bouquet of dollar bills.
The streamer showcased this in a TikTok video:
This was the criticism: While the video received many likes, there were also some negative comments. Users criticize that the streamer is flaunting her wealth.
It says, for example:
- “It’s so exhausting that so many celebrities and streamers are so far removed from reality that they can’t read the room”
- “I’m 100% sure that this money for you is what $5 is for us normies.”
Streamer in the crosshairs of Blockout 2024
This was the serious criticism: Currently, a movement on social media in the USA, “Blockout 2024,” is calling for canceling celebrities who are very rich but have not commented on the conflict in Israel.
It’s about the suffering in the Gaza Strip, which moves many worldwide.
The movement originated on May 6 at a gala: The Met Gala is known as the gala of the beautiful and wealthy, where celebrities flaunt their wealth. Therefore, the gala has been criticized for years and particularly in 2024, due to the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
At the event, there was a social media post from influencer Hailey Kalil, where she said “Let them eat cake” (via cnn).
This is a historical reference to Marie Antoinette and has been seen for centuries as an example of a rich, privileged person who is deaf and blind to the poverty and misery of the world. The phrase is often thought of as a spark of the French Revolution, although historians doubt that it was said as such.
This post tipped the scales and triggered Blockout 2024: The movement calls for blocking the accounts of celebrities who remain silent about the situation in the Gaza Strip.
As examples of such “rich but blind celebrities,” a whole list of prominent figures has emerged, including Gal Gadot, Justin Bieber, Harry Styles, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and Kevin Hart.
Now there were also threats to put Pokimane on this list.
Pokimane reaffirms her commitment to the Gaza Strip
This was Pokimane’s response: The 28-year-old recognized the danger and said she completely understands. She hopes her gesture with the bouquet is clearly recognized as a joke.
She will now continue to support the “palestinian cause,” the Palestinians, with her words and her wallet. She promises that. On May 11, she had already shared a call for donations on Twitter (via twitter).
With this, she apparently wanted to quickly jump off the list.
Pokimane is already a burned child when it comes to the topic of money
, as the streamer, who usually acts so sensitively and thoughtfully, seems to have lost some of her sensitivity according to her critics, that not everyone has as much money as she does: 27-year-old sells very expensive cookies on Twitch, is criticized for it: Fuels the criticism with new statement
