Jan Böhmermann described the Twitch streamer and voice actress LaraLoft as a sex mascot in his podcast. The satirist and presenter has since apologized for this statement, claiming it was a misunderstanding because she looked “cosplay-like”.
What happened? In the episode “Die Wut ist Glut” of the podcast “Fest und Flauschig”, Jan Böhmermann referred to the German Twitch streamer LaraLoft as a sex mascot.
He mentioned her among a series of well-known individuals from the city of Bremen. The moderator said verbatim:
I found out: A huge star in the Twitch scene is supposedly LaraLoft, a voice actress and somehow also a sex mascot and so on. She is also from Bremen. I don’t know what she does, but I generally think that’s good.
From the episode “Die Wut ist Glut” from minute 35:55.
Böhmermann, however, did not elaborate on LaraLoft in the podcast. His statement met with some resistance and there were negative comments directed at the moderator.
One episode later, he then apologized for his statement. He had only seen an article about her and then placed her in a particular corner.
She has lent her voice to famous video game characters such as Lara Croft in “Rise of the Tomb Raider” or “Sombra” in Overwatch. She also appeared in Game Two by Rocket Beans and as a presenter at the GameStar gamescom news in 2019.
“I saved that incorrectly”
What does Böhmermann say? One episode later, Böhmermann then apologized for the insult:
In the last episode, I touched on the voice actress, the successful voice actress LaraLoft from Bremen, whom I really only superficially touched on, some video was forwarded to me that I saw on YouTube, and then I read 2 or 3 articles and saved that incorrectly.
She is of course not a sex symbol, but a professional, great voice actress.
From the episode “Auf die Hand” from minute 4:07.
Furthermore, he explained that LaraLoft simply looked “cosplay-like” and that he is getting old and mixed things up. He also apologized to LaraLoft fans who apparently pointed out his mistake.
How did Böhmermann even come across LaraLoft? After the apology, the moderator then addressed the topic about why he even read articles about LaraLoft. In the course of his research, he dealt with the topic of simps in gaming.
Böhmermann repeatedly addresses the topic of gaming in his podcast and shows:
- Böhmermann pushes German Twitch star into right-wing corner – He fights back
- Böhmermann demands ban on Coin Master – Authorities actually react
- Böhmermann takes on German Twitch streamer Knossi
What are simps? Simps are men who are almost submissive to a female streamer or content creator. They want to gain her attention in the distant hope of perhaps experiencing sexual pleasures or because it gives them something if the streamer acknowledges their existence.
The topic already heated up in May when Twitch deleted several “simp emotes”:
Twitch deletes emotes for “simp” – What is a simp anyway?
Women on Twitch struggle with prejudices
The streaming platform Twitch revolves mainly around the topic of gaming, even though categories like “Just Chatting” have been introduced. One of the well-known female streamers is Imane “Pokimane” Anis.
She is considered one of the “good ones” on Twitch and made positive headlines by deciding not to accept large donations from her viewers any longer. She does not believe a sum higher than 5 dollars is necessary.
On the other hand, there are also streamers who have gained attention through negative behavior.
- One of them is Natalia “Alinity” Mogollon, who has been accused multiple times of placing too much emphasis on sexual appeal and too little on content. There was also a huge outcry when the streamer mistreated her pets live.
- The streamer InvaderVie, on the other hand, became known for a livestream in which she acted very dominantly, showed a lot of cleavage, and demanded subscriptions from her viewers, even though they had become unemployed due to the pandemic. Although she later apologized for this action, her channel grew from it and gained attention.
The situation on Twitch is also not easy because many situations are rated differently. Especially the topic of clothing and nudity repeatedly leads to problems.
The streamer ShyBear was banned for her tight outfit. However, she felt unfairly treated because her outfit was no more revealing than those worn by other women who were not banned.
She mainly complains about the lack of transparency, which Twitch has been accused of before.
