Kaitlyn “Amouranth” Siragusa may have been the victim of a targeted arson attack.
The streamer took to Twitter on Saturday to discuss a scary incident saying that on August 13, a garbage can next to her house was set on fire. Though a cause has not yet been determined, Amouranth stated that police suspect it to be an arson case. No one has been arrested, but Amouranth noted that she is safe, as are her pets.
Yesterday, Late in the evening there was a fire along the side of my home originating from the area where my trashcan is kept. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but investigators strongly suspect arson.
— Amouranth (@Amouranth) August 14, 2021
Amouranth then stated that this is far from an isolated incident. The streamer went through a list of different incidents where violent acts were committed against her during her streaming career.
She noted that she is swatted on a weekly basis to the point where she has a working relationship with her local police office. Swatting is the process of calling police and saying that there is an active violent crime happening at a location in order to prompt an armed response from police in order to terrorize the people at the location. Amouranth says she’s had to essentially create a password system with police in order to distinguish whether she is calling them.
Is streaming on Twitch dangerous?
Many streamers have faced dangerous situations in the past, showing streaming to have similar potentia dangers to other forms of celebrity. Actors, artists, and athletes all face incidences of violence from troubled individuals, ranging from threats designed to make them uncomfortable to actual attempts on their life. Possibly the most famous incident of this was the 1995 death of singer Selena, who was shot and killed by the president of her fan club.
Streamers have also faced a number of ugly incidents in the past, some of which played out live on Twitch.
In 2018, a Call of Duty livestream featuring Guy “Dr Disrespect” Beahm was interrupted by gunfire. The shots could be heard on Twitch, with Dr Disrespect stepping away to investigate, returning without his iconic wig and sunglasses, and signing off abruptly after saying this was the second time it had happened. Swatting is also unfortunately common, with Fortnite streamer Turner “Tfue” Tenney once getting Swatted live on air.
We’ve seen a lot of conversation about botting, hate raids, and other forms of harassment targeting marginalized creators. You’re asking us to do better, and we know we need to do more to address these issues. That includes an open and ongoing dialogue about creator safety.
— Twitch (@Twitch) August 11, 2021
The incident involving Amouranth comes as Twitch faces criticism for fostering an unsafe environment for streamers, with the company acknowledging a recent uptick in targeted harassment.
