In WoW there is a discussion about the race to defeat the bosses in the raids first. A player wishes that the guilds recognize that in the race for the World First, women and minorities could also play an important role as casters and players. The outspoken Twitch streamer Asmongold becomes aggressive and brushes off the backlash.
What does the player demand? On September 9, the player “ActuallyArcane” wrote on Twitter about the race for the World First, which in WoW is now starting:
One day I would like to see the Race to World First teams with a diverse group of raiders.
Women, People of Color, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community can play WoW at a high level and do so, and one day I would hope that the teams AND the casters reflect this.
Asmongold harshly attacks player on YouTube: She is the problem
This is what Asmongold said: For streamer Asmongold, it is clear: The player who says this is not “actually arcane,” but “actually retarded,” therefore backwards.
His anger towards the player increases when he reads in her Twitter profile that she is a partner of Blizzard. He criticizes Blizzard for giving her more credibility.
We as consumers must make it clear that such people do not speak for us. They speak only for themselves and for no one else.
Asmongold seems to miss the irony that the statement implies that he himself speaks for “all consumers” and not just for himself.
Asmongold makes player the target of criticism in a video
This is how Asmongold deals with the player: In a clip on YouTube, it can be seen that Asmongold is addressing the player’s wish, but directly targets the person behind the statement.
He then states that “ActuallyArcane” had already drawn attention when she expressed joy over the corpulent model of the druid in Diablo 4. We reported on this in March 2023. In doing so, she actually only called herself “fat”.
For him, it is clear: The player is “the problem” – he is pleased that in the comments many refer to her as backward.
Blizzard should be ashamed to support the player; she is a “parasite” and is embarrassing herself online.
Asmongold’s video sparks a series of negative comments against the player on YouTube. The video has now reached 1 million views.
Asmongold criticized for statement by YouTuber about WoW
How does Asmongold react to criticism? A content creator, Pyromancer, has sided with the player on Twitter and criticized Asmongold. It is important to treat women with respect.
Asmongold perceived these statements from Pyromancer as an attack on himself: “Someone is talking crap about him.”
Quickly, the next video on the YouTube channel Asmongold Clips went online – this time Pyromancer became the target of Asmongold’s anger.
He reacts aggressively to Pyromancer’s statement and argues that he had been lenient. If a player had said something like this, rather than a player, he would have reacted even more harshly.
Criticism disappears after Asmongold attacks the critic
What happened next? The video and the controversy with Pyromancer have now been deleted from YouTube. He knows Pyromancer for years and has no problem with him (via youtube). When Pyromancer deleted his tweet, it was also okay for his own video to disappear from YouTube, Asmongold explains.
Yet he stands by his statements about “the girl.” His criticism of her has nothing to do with her as a person, but only with her statements.
It is by no means the case that people are excluded from World First Racing because of their identity. Only “Karens” would claim that. He finds such claims disgusting and terrible.
Pyromancer says: Tweet wasn’t from him – He doesn’t want trouble
Why was the tweet deleted? Pyromancer says (via youtube): He didn’t write the tweet, but his editor did. Pyromancer himself was not at home. When he came back, he saw that he had received many dislikes and people had unsubscribed from him.
He is very frustrated because he is getting “trouble for something he didn’t do.” He deleted the tweet.
Pyromancer says: He stands by the statement of the tweet, but would not have directed it so clearly against Asmongold. He doesn’t want to get involved in this “shit,” but just wants to make videos about WoW.
“Hasan, but for Incels”
How is this discussed? In a reddit thread about YouTube drama, Asmongold is now viewed critically. The comments say:
- “I just realized, he is Hasan, but for Incels” – this is a reference to HasanAbi, who has been accused of spreading “leftist propaganda” on Twitch
- “Yes, he used to have some reasonable takes, but these are drowned in a constant shitstorm of misogynistic crap that he consistently spews”
- “Asmongold has shown his true face when he said the female streamer only won as a token woman”
Asmongold criticized a Mexican female streamer for winning the Streamer of the Year award while male US streamers deserved it much more. The streamer received hate mails and death threats and criticized Asmongold for inciting hate against her without knowing her: Twitch: 26-year-old is attacked for being the only nominated woman to win an award she did not want
