Shortly after his recent YouTube ban, Twitch has also permanently banned controversial streamer Calvin “LeafyIsHere” Vail. The platform permabanned him to protect other users, stating that he repeatedly violated its harassment policies.
Leafy has a history of creating offensive content, including cyberbullying and harassment. YouTube had banned him after his third policy violation within the past 90 days, which ended up in the platform removing his content entirely. One of his most popular videos includes a 12-minute montage of Pokimane clips as he insults her and her fans. Videos like this go against YouTube’s new anti-harassment policies, so banning Leafy off of the platform fits right in.
According to esports industry insider Rod “Slasher” Breslau, Twitch stated that Leafy does more harm than good. As a result, they used suspended Leafy’s account, stating his conduct violates Twitch’s rules.
again Twitch's statement connecting to this tweet:
“The safety of our community is our top priority, and we reserve the right to suspend any account for conduct that violates our rules, or that we determine to be inappropriate, harmful, or puts our community at risk.”
— Rod Breslau (@Slasher) September 11, 2020
As a response to the suspension, Leafy tweeted out a screenshot of an email from Twitch Support. The email shows that his account had been restricted due to “Engaging in hateful conduct and threats of violence against a person or group of people.” Leafy stated that this was his first offense, and he should not have been restricted. Additionally, he complained that he didn’t receive a warning, and was being mindful of Twitch’s Terms of Service.
https://twitter.com/Leafy/status/1304554417723711490
Besides harassing other content creators, users have also claimed that Leafy is homophobic and transphobic. To this day, he continues to be problematic, especially since he has fans who actively support him.
Keemstar defending Leafy
DramaAlert star Keemstar shared a video of him defending Leafy, stating that the ban was “unfair.” “Is anybody gonna stick up for this man? He’s literally being de-platformed, for what? What’d he do? Edgy comedy?”
“I don’t the internet to be like this, man,” he continued. “We got to have fun. We have to be entertained by that edgy comedy and content. I have tamed down my stuff to comply with the new rules of these platforms, and Leafy has calmed down from the old Leafy.” He then pleaded for his viewers to protect Leafy’s style of entertainment.
Unban leafy pic.twitter.com/EdS7ocAAVk
— KEEM 🍿 (@KEEMSTAR) September 11, 2020
Keemstar’s video received plenty of comments, including users who argue that other creators should also receive bans for similar content. At the moment, Twitch has not commented further about the situation.
