At the weekend, the unofficial Streamer Awards took place on Twitch, a huge event. Among those present was the streamer Sweet Anita. She has Tourette’s syndrome but still spoke in front of the gathered participants. For this, she received a lot of praise from the viewers.
Which show is it about?
- On March 13, the Twitch Streamer Awards 2022 took place, hosted by the streamer QTCinderella. The event ran like a film award gala. Over 350,000 people watched live on Twitch at its peak (via sullygnome).
- Streamers were honored in various categories – for example, Asmongold as the best MMORPG streamer, who fittingly did not even attend the award ceremony in person.
- The event featured dozens of Twitch stars, including Sweet Anita, who presented the “best content organization” category.
Who is the streamer? Sweet Anita has been a name on Twitch for several years. She gained recognition in 2018 for streaming despite having Tourette’s syndrome and wrapping her condition in charm.
Tourette’s is a condition where people perform involuntary actions, such as sudden movements or shouting words – known as “tics.” Sweet Anita has a form in which she involuntarily utters insults (“coprolalia”). You can watch more on the German YouTube channel “Gewitter im Kopf – Leben mit Tourette”.
People with Tourette’s do not have control over their tics. Therefore, Sweet Anita appeared at the Streamer Awards knowing that she would inevitably offend someone. And so it happened. Sweet Anita began with the joking remark, “I’m here to insult you for a while.” She asked the audience to go “f*** themselves” politely, praised her own breasts, and insulted the nominees in passing.
You can watch her appearance at the Twitch Streamer Awards in the video embedded here or alternatively here without edits of the tics. The segment starts at hour 1:28:35:
Sweet Anita speaks at the Streamer Awards and everyone celebrates her
The reactions to her speech are not outrage, but overwhelming praise. Even during her speech, the audience cheers her on repeatedly.
The comments under the unedited video on YouTube praise her courage. For example:
- “Imagine having the courage to do that in front of 350,000 people. 100% knowing that you will say some wild stuff. Impressive.”
It is also nice to see that someone can represent people with Tourette’s even at such a big show while still maintaining composure. One could see her nervousness, yet she handled the moderation excellently.
Moreover, her tics provided some laughs, both from the audience and from Sweet Anita herself. Viewers found this one of the “funniest parts of the show.”
Her illness has already caused Sweet Anita some difficulties on Twitch. In early 2020, some users demanded her ban on Twitch, but the streaming service made it clear that streamers with Tourette’s are clearly welcome.
However, the Twitch Streamer Awards 2022 also brought less pleasant news. An un-nominated streamer made a joke about one of the participants, and his fans escalated directly:
“Fans” of 2 big streamers on Twitch allegedly photograph houses, threaten with murder
