Time and again, users of the Twitch platform are calling for a ban on the streamer “Sweet Anita”. The 29-year-old suffers from Tourette’s syndrome. This leads her to say words for which others on Twitch have been banned. But Twitch is now taking a clear stance.
This is the situation: The 29-year-old Twitch streamer Sweet Anita (Overwatch, Apex Legends) suffers from Tourette’s syndrome. She has tics that also manifest in coprolalia, the use of foul language and curse words.
These tics often lead to laughter from Twitch viewers and friends of Sweet Anita.
Here, the Twitch streamer is asked if she has pets, and then says: Yes, she always throws them over her shoulder against the wall for traffic. A reference to the incident that drew attention to the Twitch streamer Alinity Divine in 2019.
Sweet Anita then immediately covers her mouth and has to laugh at what her tics make her say.
But it doesn’t always end as lightly. In a Twitch stream in December 2019, she used the racist “N” word. This sparked a debate: Some users demanded that Twitch should ban the streamer.
It was said that the circumstances didn’t matter, the word must lead to a punishment.
Time and again, there are also accusations that the tics are not real but rather a marketing gimmick. People have difficulty accepting the illness.
Twitch says: Streamers with Tourette are welcome
This is how Twitch sees it: So far, there has been no indication from Twitch that they plan to ban or restrict Sweet Anita in any way.
On January 8th, a tweet from Dale Cruse came in. He is responsible for inclusion at Amazon, ensuring that no one with disabilities is excluded. He explicitly states: Streamers with Tourette’s syndrome like Sweet Anita or NarinDipity belong to Twitch and are welcomed on the platform.
This is how Sweet Anita reacts: She thanks Twitch for supporting people with Tourette’s syndrome. It is not easy to work, take care of oneself, and stay in touch with people when suffering from coprolalia, but streaming has allowed her to do all these things.
The acceptance and support have allowed her to break barriers. Sweet Anita had said earlier that despite all the problems she faces due to Tourette’s syndrome, she is happy about the many support that leads to Tourette becoming more publicly recognized and raising awareness among people.
Even though Sweet Anita’s tics are often taken humorously and cause laughter within the community, such situations do not always end well for Sweet Anita privately.
This is how Sweet Anita suffered from the incident: She said she cannot believe that people accuse her of faking these tics. She has apparently developed the tic with the “N” word through streaming. Now she is afraid to talk to her father, who is black, for fear of offending him. Due to the uproar, she lost almost 1000 subscribers, who are the Twitch supporters who regularly provide money.
Sweet Anita says she had a tic while shopping, was then thrown out of the store, and now has to always shop in a further store to get things for her disabled mother.
Then came comments that she was faking tics for attention, which was particularly painful.
