Twitch streamer Invadervie has come under fire for shaming her viewers that can't afford or choose not to subscribe to her. In a stream on April 14th, she detailed the reasons she thinks that all her viewers should subscribe despite their financial state and was met with backlash from the comments.
Unlike YouTube, subscribing to a Twitch streamer requires a financial commitment. In the case of Invadervie, this is about $5 to $10, but her insistence that fans subscribe to her is rather alarming to some, especially given the current financial struggle many are facing as a result of the Coronavirus.
In the stream, she explains that because she is not asking for a lot of money, fans have an obligation to provide it to her if they enjoy her content. When confronted about those fans that can't afford to spend money on that kind of thing, she simply says that fans that don't have $5 shouldn't be watching Twitch and should instead get a job.
Click here to see the clip.
This kind of harsh thinking was rather shocking, and more so given the current international crisis. Many have lost their jobs completely as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic and are relying solely on unemployment and government stimulus checks to simply pay the bills. It is no surprise then that these people would turn to entertainment platforms like Twitch to give them some positive influence on life. Most content creators understand this and are happy to help people through these hard times, but Invadervie takes a more cynical stance.
Invadervie goes so far as to say that it "doesn't really track" that viewers that are too broke can't subscribe, insisting that in reality they are "so irresponsible with [their] money [they] can't support the entertainment that [they] enjoy." Naturally, her many of her viewers responded in shock, but there were still some that supported her point of view and further shamed those unsubscribed viewers. When called out for this point of view, Invadervie doubles down, attacking those that disagree with her by calling them "immature, childish, cheapskates." The whole display is rather uncomfortable to watch and will likely affect her sub count moving forward.
In a time when there is so much uncertainty in everyone's lives, content creators have become more relied on and appreciated than ever before. It is a shame that Invadervie believes that only monetary contributions show her fans' appreciation, but it is possible that she is stressed out due to the financial burden of COVID-19 as well.
Source: Dexerto