The streaming platform Twitch has issued a permanent ban against the streamer Robert “Hashinshin” Brotz (29). He is one of the larger streamers for the MOBA League of Legends (LoL). Accusations have arisen against him that he allegedly sexually harassed underage girls, referred to as “grooming.” He defended himself for days but eventually admitted to misconduct.
This is Hashinshin on Twitch: The semi-professional LoL player is one of the most active streamers on Twitch. Last year, he was on air for 2,668 hours. This means he was streamed for an average of 7 hours every day (via sullygnome).
Therefore, he has high viewer hours: He is ranked 26th for League of Legends, ahead of LoL superstars like Faker, who has many more viewers when he streams, but is only on air for one-tenth of the time Hashinshin is.
This is why he is banned: There has been a growing scandal surrounding the US streamer in recent days that drew the community’s attention:
- Several women have come forward on Twitter, claiming that Hashinshin allegedly contacted them when they were still minors. It involved sexually suggestive messages and it was reported that nude pictures were sent, the women claimed.
- Twitch has since started to ban streamers when they are convinced that there is some truth to such accusations. This pattern of behavior came after even the CEO of Twitch was under pressure, as he was doing too little to keep his platform safe and clean.
“Gas leak” and “I am not a pedophile”
This is what the streamer himself says: The streamer has been heavily under fire on Twitter over the past few days, which constantly affected him.
The site Inven has detailed in a multi-page article how the situation has developed over the last 11 days. The accusations began on July 12. Chat logs came to light. This escalated over the days.
More and more chat logs surfaced, with more women coming forward painting a picture of someone who “grooms” girls: This is what it’s called when adults approach inexperienced girls online and lure them into sexual acts.
The streamer initially defended himself harshly against these accusations. He claimed that chat logs were fake. Hashinshin declared: He is not a “goddamn pedophile.” The accusations are false and harm actual victims.
Additionally, he said that two of the girls blackmailed him, conspired against him, and received thousands of US dollars from him, otherwise they would go public with the story. “Grooming” cannot even be called that, he said; it’s the wrong word for it since that is a federal crime.
Hashinshin claimed that he suffered from a gas leak in his apartment that might have caused mental damage, through which some memories from 2010 to 2018 are no longer as present. Therefore, he might not be able to refute some of the accusations, they could possibly be true.
Besides Twitter, the conflict also moved to YouTube, where screenshots and chat logs were shown in videos as evidence of misconduct.
This has once again presented a case of sexual harassment allegations where no court would decide, but the pressure through social media like Twitter.
Pressure from the LoL community on streamers is growing
This is how it turned out: Ultimately, a front against Hashinshin formed: Major Twitch streamers and YouTubers from the LoL scene have spoken critically about his behavior. He was particularly hit hard by a video from Voyboy that sharply criticized him.
He accused him of portraying himself as a victim and using his mental state as an excuse. It is not about him at all, but about the actual victims, the underage girls and boys, whom “monsters” are chasing.
IWillDominate, one of the largest LoL streamers, had clear words for Hashinshin and called for his ban from Twitch:
“A daily reminder that Hashinshin is still allowed to stream, even though he is confirmed to be a pedophile who used Twitch to groom children.”
Tweet from IWillDominate
Hashinshin has appeared increasingly dissatisfied and desperate in his role on Twitter:
- He said people sent him hate messages telling him to commit suicide.
- He is not good at dealing with the situation.
- He even shared a tweet asking people to stop bashing Hashinshin, stating it could drive him to suicide.
In conclusion, just hours ago, Hashinshin admitted that he acted incorrectly and spoke in “inappropriate ways with teenage girls.”
He regrets it. However, he says he did not send nude photos to the girls nor asked for any as long as they were under 18. And he did not visit any of the women.
Now he has received a permanent ban from Twitch, and he regrets having given away his money.
He says, however, that he will come up with something; he is good at improvising. Now he will survive.
The ban of Hashinshin will be permanent, based on everything we know now. In the past, there have frequently been bans against LoL streamers, but for things that happened during the stream, nothing outside of that:
Twitch streamer gets banned during 24-hour marathon from LoL
