Following numerous allegations of sexual harassment and assault within the Twitch community, Twitch CEO Emmett Shear shared an internal email he sent to the company today.
Shear said the streaming platform is “looking into” each incident and that it will be taking action in the form of “banning, removing partnership, or removing people from promotional opportunities and activations if [it has] concerns based on credible accusations and their historical behavior on Twitch.”
Shear said he wants Twitch to be the safest place for creators on the internet and that everyone can have a safe and positive experience. The executive also apologized for comments others could have viewed as “dismissive,” which is something music streamer YourStarling accused Shear of.
In a Twitter thread on June 21, Starling said Shear, when asked in an ‘All Hands’ meeting about Twitch partners using their platforms to abuse women, “chuckled” and said ‘Wow, the things that go on our platform, can’t really comment.”
Former Twitch executive Justin Wong also said yesterday that he reported a person who allegedly sexually harassed Wong’s wife to a vice president, head of human resources, and the CEO of Twitch. Wong said he was told “it would be handled,” but the streamer was again present in a VIP space at a Twitch event the following year.
In a company statement on June 21, Twitch said it was “committed to working to make the streaming community safer for everyone.”
