In GTA 5 there is a German role-playing server, LuckyV. The server is operated by Dennis “Heideltraut” Werth. A German Twitch streamer, Justus Henker, was banned from the server and is now trying to raise money to sue the operator.
What kind of server is this?
- GTA 5 has experienced a significant surge on Twitch for the past few months: Behind this are privately operated role-playing servers. In the USA, “NoPixel” is leading, where US streamers like Sodapoppin or the rogue xQc have their adventures. They play as robbers and police officers or run a burger chain.
- In Germany, the streamer and YouTuber Dennis Werth started the server “LuckyV”. It is considered a “hardcore GTA RP server”. While most large German streamers like MontanaBlack or Trymacs play on the server “Immortal,” the streamer “Heideltraut” is the biggest on LuckyV, which is Dennis Wirth himself.
- Recently, a bizarre incident occurred on the server: A brewing dispute between Werth and a streamer escalated.
Streamer gets banned because his character appeared to be masturbating in the game
This sparked a dispute: One of the streamers there, Justus Henker, plays a prosecutor on the GTA server. From his perspective, he was wrongly banned from the server on September 24.
According to his account, it was a gigantic misunderstanding. He set his character in front of a poster depicting an attractive woman, said “Take it in your hand, Ariane” and then switched to a black screen to end his stream.
However, the support team of the server curiously misunderstood this and interpreted it as if the streamer intended to imply that he was now masturbating to the person on the poster or performing another sexual act. Consequently, the streamer was banned from the server for 5 days.
Streamer upset over DMCA strike against his video
This is how the dispute escalated: The day after, Werth addressed the incident in his own stream. This really upset the banned Twitch streamer. Henker calls Werth’s video “deliberately false and biased.”
Henker then created a video where he referenced Werth’s statements.
According to the streamer, Werth had this video taken down via a DMCA strike. The streamer Justus Henker is apparently extremely upset about this.
Streamer raises money to file a lawsuit.
This is how it continues now: For Werth, the matter was already over by the end of September. They had resolved the issue, lifted the strike, and it was pretty much settled.
However, the dispute flared up again: Werth wished the streamer good luck and ultimately banned him from the server (via twitter). He obviously got tired of dealing with the streamer who was threatening legal action.
The streamer “Justus Henker,” on the other hand, is still fully engaged. He feels completely wronged and harassed. He accuses Werth of censoring him by illegally blocking his content. Justus Henker is trying to establish the hashtag “#HenkerGate” – but so far without success.
He is now raising donations to file a lawsuit against Werth in a US court in California. According to his statements, he has already raised €2,850 for the lawsuit.
As Henker reports on Twitter, he has now been banned from Twitch as of November 10 – one possible reason cited is “involvement in sexual acts.”
One can assume that due to the additional attention on the case, Twitch has now also taken notice of the “poster” incident that occurred a few weeks ago. Apparently, Twitch drew the same conclusions from the poster incident as Werth did.
Or there has been another incident where someone completely misunderstood what the Twitch streamer was doing. The details of the ban are unclear.
Server operator says he is 31 and wonders what he has to deal with
How does Werth react? Werth has also now commented on the incidents from the end of September on November 10. He states that he is leaving the case to his lawyers (via twitter). He will not comment further on the incident. However, he hopes that people who donate for the lawsuit think about it.
Werth had already remarked at the end of September that he wonders what he has to deal with on the GTA server. He is now 31 and gets insulted and attacked often. The GTA community is a strange scene (via twitter).
The role-playing in GTA is really strange. This experience had to be made by the streamer xQc as well:
Twitch streamer shows what happens when you beat up your girlfriend in GTA 5
Streamer explains exact reason for Twitch ban
Update 12.11, 9:49 AM: The Twitch streamer Justus Henker has come forward with details about his Twitch ban with MeinMMO.
As he proves with screenshots, he was not banned from Twitch for the incident in September, but for another stream in which he dealt with the aftermath of the incident. In that stream, he re-showed the clip of the incident for which he was banned from the GTA server.
Henker says he announced in the stream that he would send a handmade poster as a voluntary contribution – the poster was intended for “participants in our project,” meaning people who donate to file a lawsuit against Werth. It was meant to serve as a keepsake.
The poster features the woman from the poster that triggered the incident. Henker emphasizes that it should all be seen in a satirical context. He appeals to artistic freedom.
