Popular World of Warcraft Twitch streamer Asmongold denies promoting online harassment from his followers. Another WoW streamer criticized him for misusing his large online influence. Taliesin, a member of the YouTube channel Taliesin & Evitel, ranted on Twitch about Asmongold’s followers. He highlighted how they will often harass people he criticizes on stream. Taliesin has since apologized for his comments. But, he still maintains that people like Asmongold have a responsibility when it comes to their audiences.
“We were using him as an example because he’s the biggest WoW streamer and creator by miles,” Taliesin said. “I’m sorry if I got caught up in talking about him specifically and making it sound like I was accusing of something.”
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Taliesin’s comments caused Asmongold to comment on his actions in the past. He’s been known to be critical of Blizzard developers and other streamers. Taliesin specifically called this part of his persona out in his rant. “I’m sorry I’m not a punching bag,” Asmongold said. “If people want to come and antagonize me, I’m going to respond to that.”
Asmongold said he has banned anyone from his streams that have went out and harassed the people he’s talked about. He also said that he shouldn’t be responsible for his viewers attacking other people in his name. The streamer promotes WoW players to harass players that use mounts purchased from the real money store. Asmongold doesn’t see that as a problem.
Although the debate has since subsided, it brings up a problem that keeps happening with large content creators like Asmongold. It’s further complicated when those creators utilize an exaggerated persona like Asmongold and Dr. Disrespect. It can be hard for their viewers to disconnect the persona from reality. This can lead to unchecked harassment of smaller creators or developers. Tons of people in chat are hard to manage, but their impact can still cause problems that reflect on the streamer themselves.
