Hasan moves to YouTube during Twitch ban after using the word ‘cracker’

Is Twitch going to end up losing another star? (pic: Instagram)

Yet another big name streamer has been banned from Twitch, as Hasan has ridiculed the idea that the term ‘cracker’ is a racial slur.

Twitch is turning into its own worst enemy at the moment, as streamer Hasan Piker revealed he will stream on YouTube for the duration of his controversial new ban.

The ban started on Monday and is the third one for Hasan, although the real controversy is that it appears to be because of the use of the word ‘cracker’ during one of his streams.

Twitch never usually reveals why people have been banned (Dr Disrespect claims he’s still never been told) but Hasan had already been involved in a long-standing argument with his viewers, some of whom have tried to claim the term cracker is a ‘hateful slur’.

Hasan had previously tried to laugh off the suggestion, telling viewers to, ‘Recognise the person who’s calling you a f***ing cracker is literally powerless.’

‘They’re doing it as someone who has been historically oppressed, blowing off steam. You can say it’s infantilising or whatever the f***, but that’s reality.’

The use of the word became an issue when Hasan revealed that a number of his moderators had been indefinitely suspended for using the term, which Hasan described as ‘insane’.

The origin of the term cracker is no longer entirely clear, but it is believed to derive from the practice of cracking a whip to punish slaves.

This seems to imply that Twitch does consider the word to be a slur, although as ever its exact policy remains opaque.

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Hasan has over 1.6 million followers on Twitch and more than 50,000 subscribers, allowing him to recently buy a $2.74 million mansion in the Hollywood Hills.

Although Hasan has not lost his partner status as a result of the ban his decision to stream on YouTube during the interim could be a warning to Twitch that he is thinking of moving to the rival service, as have several other major Twitch stars in recent months, such as Ludwig, Valkyrae, and TimtheTatman.

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