Erik “Gronkh” Range is considered somewhat like the “big brother” of German Twitch. Many find it absurd that the 46-year-old is supposed to be “right-wing.” But that’s exactly what he is being accused of, because he has expressed criticism towards Shurjoka.
What is this accusation about? In a stream of the Twitch streamer Dara, better known as “DerRadikaleDemokrat,” one of his moderators stated on August 14, 2023, that Gronkh is probably “quite right-wing.” This can be seen in how he would “incite” against the streamer Pia “Shurjoka” Scholz.
This statement was subsequently spread by Theo “Scurrows” Bottländer on Twitter, where it eventually reached Gronkh himself, who commented on it.
Streamer reviews the boycott of Hogwarts Legacy
This is the background: On August 14, 2023, Twitch streamer Dara, better known as “DerRadikaleDemokrat,” spoke about the boycott of the “Harry Potter” game Hogwarts Legacy. The boycott was successful in the short term, as it created increased media attention.
In hindsight, according to the Twitch streamer, it could have been handled better.
He explains that the “woke, progressive, leftist internet bubble” would have attracted a lot of hatred in the long run. Instead of calling for a boycott, they could have used the hype around the game to raise awareness of issues like transphobia.
DerRadikaleDemokrat says his Twitch colleague Gronkh actually had a good proposal. Gronkh had indeed shown Hogwarts Legacy on his channel but wanted to collect donations for organizations that advocate for trans rights at the same time.
However, Gronkh completely abandoned the idea of showcasing the game after the question arose of whether J.K. Rowling, the author of Harry Potter, could simply not matter to him, which earned him a shitstorm on Twitter. This would likely result in “losing one of the biggest influencers on the platform forever,” says DerRadikaleDemokrat.
In this context, the moderator’s statement was made.
Gronkh made a statement regarding his “shitstorm”
What is meant by “incitement”? The moderator’s statement probably refers to a statement Gronkh made in early August. The Twitch streamer explained that he “let go” of the topic surrounding Shurjoka, who has faced intense criticism for months.
Gronkh, who generally wants to stay out of such disputes, expressed himself cautiously: He followed the topic with interest, but had to “only tear his hair out” on one side. Certain individuals, the 46-year-old said, he simply did not want to give a platform.
However, the Twitch streamer also makes it clear: At the beginning of the debate, lies about him were spread, but these only came from one side – that of Shurjoka.
Gronkh was particularly bothered by the portrayal that he didn’t actually have a “real shitstorm.”
Despite all the criticism, his fans and other content creators defended him at that time.
In his first livestream after the shitstorm, he was welcomed by his fans with €37,000 in subscriptions and broke a personal viewer record. Shurjoka herself expressed that she would also like to have such shitstorms in her own stream.
For Gronkh, it apparently came across as though the criticism directed at him was trivial since he was making money from it somehow. However, the criticism seemed to weigh heavily on him during this time; in his stream back then, he said he could hardly sleep.
An unedited version of the statement was posted by YouTuber Herr Newstime, which we have embedded here for you. It starts at 1:06.
How does Gronkh respond to the accusation? On Twitter, the 46-year-old shared a screenshot of the chat message “for amusement.” You just can’t make this up. He asks: “Twitch, is this actually okay?”
Even now, Gronkh can count on the support of his fans and many of his colleagues from Twitch and YouTube. In the comments, they express their disbelief that he is supposed to be right-wing.
Others are upset on Gronkh’s behalf. The streamer Gnu writes: This makes her really angry (via Twitter). Shurjoka herself seems unhappy about being dragged into this way: she responded with a “facepalm” meme.
And indeed, the impact of the statement is already visible: “Gronkh” and “Shurjoka” are currently trending on Twitter. The week had started so nicely for the Twitch streamer:
Gronkh receives 7,000 subscriptions on Twitch in a few minutes, destroying all functions with it
