Popular Twitch streamer and former Overwatch professional player Jehong “Ryujehong” Ryu has been suspended from Gen. G’s “team-related activities” after making sexist comments on his live stream.
Ryujehong has a long account in Overwatch esports where he played as a professional support for three years. After spending two years in Seoul Dynasty, the Overwatch veteran was signed by Gen.G as its content creator in January. However, his recent Twitch episode has earned him a suspension from the organization’s COO Arnold Hur.
Response on ryujehong pic.twitter.com/os64Nna1RG
— Arnold (@arnoldwh) January 19, 2021
The organization has decided to cut off his services due to gross misconduct on the live stream, where he allegedly used sexist language.
On January 16, Ryujehong streamed alongside Haegi which unfolded a Twitter controversy as translations of the stream started to surface. According to the community, the streamer had used derogatory remarks towards fellow-streamer Haegi and insulted her for interrupting when men were speaking.
https://t.co/HKERkqaQ42 pic.twitter.com/TmYNYoaHmZ
— RYUJEHONG (@expose_rjh) January 19, 2021
A few other viewers translated the stream, revealing more sexist remarks where Ryujehong preached women as gold-diggers and treacherous. He further referred to Haegi as a “kimchi bitch,” and other slanderous terms in the now-deleted stream.
Initially, the viewers figured that Ryujehong seemed wasted during his broadcast. The streamer later confessed to being drunk while he was rallying his female co-streamer.
Ryujehong responds to the backlash
The social media turmoil prompted an apology from Ryujehong, who had deleted the rest of his Instagram post. One of the remaining posts mentioned that he was ashamed of the comments he made on stream.
“I don’t think any words will comfort me and those who have been hurt, but I would like to say that I am sorry in the best way I can. I would like to promise that I will look back on all my actions and try not to cause further disappointment,” his apology translated as saying.
Due to the language difference, a herd of Ryujehong’s fan-base has come forward with the claims that the comments have been taken out of context or that it was all in light humor. According to a Redditor’s translation, Haegi didn’t see why a stream has snowballed into a massive controversy.
“So am I the streamer mentioned here? But I have one thing to say about this. I also swore at RJH and called him Kim Chi boy, and we both swore at each other. But why does the article only mention him? That feels unfair,” Haegi said.
Despite the apology and Haegi defending the comments, the language used by Ryujehong was incredibly inappropriate to be used on a live stream by a pro player. Moreover, the streamer’s drunken behavior is nothing but a disappointment for Overwatch esports fans who looked up to him.
His affiliation with Gen.G makes his case worse, as the sexist comments mar the organization’s reputation if they stay in a contract. Consequently, Gen.G suspended Ryujehong for an indefinite period for his behavior.
