Twitch is a huge streaming platform that united gamers and entertainers from all across the globe. Lately, the platform began to implement measures against “inappropriate behavior” to appease advertisers. Their efforts led to controversial results and harmed many streamers. On the other hand, the platform managed to get rid of some toxic individuals.
The latest ban on the platform that gained public attention is temporary ban of Karina “Karupups” Martsinkevich who regularly streams her games for a broad audience. One of her themes is that she often streams dressed up as fictional characters of games she plays. Sadly, her recent attempt to entertain the audience did not go well.
Karupups decided to wear a cosplay of her favorite character from Apex Legends called Lifeline. The character speaks with a Caribbean accent and has a darker skin tone usual for people from that region.
Before playing the game, Karupups decided to demonstrate her audience how to apply the makeup. She used a very dark foundation to make her facial skin appear darker. Mrs. Martsinkevich stated: “… I wanted to show the viewers, how hard is to prepare for a cosplay, how much time the make up, costume, and another details can take. [sic]”
A group of people were offended by Karupups and suggested that she used so-called “blackface” to mock people of color. She was promptly kicked off Twitch. Developers stated that Mrs. Martsinkevich engaged in “hateful conduct.”
Karupups released a video on YouTube in an effort to explain why she decided to make this cosplay. She said: “I really wanted to be as similar as Lifeline from Apex. It wasn’t meant to have a joke of anyone. It was just a cosplay…” She also added that she is not as bad as people think she is.
Karupups received support on YouTube with her video receiving more likes than dislikes with people criticizing Twitch for their decision to ban the streamer.
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