Today, Twitch banned and unlinked Ali “Gross Gore” Larsen, a longtime and controversial streamer, after old and new sexual assault allegations surfaced last weekend.
ONEIllegations emerged after the 28-year-old Larsen, who was suspended by Twitch numerseveral times over the years, made a post on the RoastMe subreddit on Friday. This prompted users to discuss previous allegations against him, culminating in long lists of Larsen’s indiscretions, including videos of Larsen himself talking about occasions when he asked a 15-year-old girl to show her breasts (he was 18 at the time) and slept with a 16-year-old girl when he was 20, as well as a video in which another streamer , Jenna, accuses him of sexually assaulting her during TwitchCon. Threads also made reference to a series of incidents in the UK Runescape Runefest convention in 2018, what Kotaku reported at the time, including a video in which Larsen appears to grab a woman’s face and try to kiss her, as well as several comments allegedly inappropriate for women that culminated in a physical altercation between Larsen and another streamer, Skiddler, who was dispersed by hotel staff and the police.
In the wake of the resurgence of these allegations, a woman named Eve appeared on Saturday with her own story, saying that Larsen prepared her in 2008, when she was 13 and he was 16. “Ali offered me video opportunities, clan chat ratings, and being featured on his personal YT channel,” she wrote in a Twitlonger. “In return, all I had to do was moan while he masturbated … Even at the age of 13 I knew I was doing something wrong, but I didn’t understand until many years later how he used his power over me to help him masturbate. “
During a call from Discord, Jenna said Kotaku that Larsen was like an “older brother” to her for a long time, but during a party at TwitchCon 2019, he got drunk and refused to stop touching his arms, legs and thigh while the two were on a couch. Eventually, he asked to grab his face. “It was super scary,” said Jenna Kotaku, noting that she had already witnessed and talked to Larsen about other cases of sexual assault at events, during which she believes he was also drunk. “Then he started to beg to grab me. And I said ‘No man, you are my brother. Stop this. ‘”She says she ended up leaving the party not long after.
In response to the allegations, Larsen posted a video on YouTube on Saturday, when he claimed that some charges, such as Jenna’s video accusing him of sexual assault, were false or out of context, and that he had already apologized to others and turned a new page. “There are some disgusting things from my past and I can promise you that I am not who I am today,” he said. “I look back, I cringe, I’m embarrassed and I really regret it.”
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Now, several days later, Twitch has banned him and removed his membership status, which means he probably won’t be back this time. In a statement to Kotaku, Twitch cited his rules against inappropriate behavior outside the platform.
“The safety of our community is our top priority,” said a Twitch spokesman by email. “We take appropriate action when we have evidence that a streamer has acted in violation of our Community Guidelines or Terms of Service, including in certain cases where the behavior may have occurred outside of Twitch. This applies to all streamers, regardless of status or prominence in the community. “
The spokesman specifically mentioned a rule that says, “We can take action against people for odious conduct or harassment that occurs outside of Twitch services and is targeted at Twitch users.”
Kotaku also extended his hand to Larsen, who pointed to a video that he posted on Twitter shortly after being banned. In the video, Larsen showed viewers the e-mail he received from Twitch, which cited “adult sexual exploitation” as the reason for his ban.
“I don’t know what to believe anymore,” said Larsen in the video. “I don’t know what else to say. I’m so used to being thrown into that community and being bullied and harassed. They are bringing things from 2016. ”
He speculated that Twitch banned him for an “revenge porn” incident in which he allegedly sent nudes to the mother of a teenage streamer, but said he only showed his mother his Instagram account, and that she was 18 at the time. . “This is a Twitch mistake,” he concluded, adding that he will start broadcasting on YouTube tomorrow.
Despite a long list of alleged infractions, Twitch was slow to ban Larsen. In 2018, he had already been suspended several times, including in 2016 after harassing a Riot employee. At the a video that Larsen released after Runefest 2018, he said that Twitch would have banned him permanently if “someone from Twitch” had not intervened on his behalf. Instead, the company suspended him for a month and prevented him from participating in TwitchCon, suggesting that he was well aware of the seriousness of his actions on Runefest. Since then, Larsen has managed to continue growing his Twitch audience to half a million followers. Larsen’s ban comes almost a year later Twitch #MeToo calculation, which resulted in the company banning several streamers accused of sexual assault and promising “to continue to evaluate charges against people affiliated with Twitch and to explore ways for Twitch to collaborate with other industry leaders on this important issue.” Months later, the company also ended up separating from an employee accused of sexual assault by a streamer.
Jenna hopes that something good will come from Larsen’s Twitch ban. “I feel bad, really, but he’s doing this to himself,” she said. “Obviously what he is doing is horrible and unforgivable. He really needs help, or he will continue to hurt people. That’s all there is to do. Maybe Twitch to ban him will force him to get that help. “
In response to Larsen’s Twitch ban and everything else that happened, Eve said Kotaku that she is “happy and ready to move on,” but that Larsen’s response to the ban has left her cold.
“He never came to me, and all I wanted was some recognition and a private sincere apology,” Eve wrote in a DM. “He has been doing the same things for over 10 years. If he wanted to write my story as if he were a child, then why didn’t this behavior end when he grew up? Honestly, I was hopeful that after writing my story, he would reach out, apologize and I could move on and tell him I forgive him. But that video just showed me how he didn’t regret it and deserved to be banned. I have no doubts in my mind, if he were not banned, there would be more stories in the future of Ali sexually abusing or harassing women. Without being held accountable, I don’t think he would see a reason to change. “
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