Neekolul shares graphic details from past abusive relationship

Olivia Richman Published 16/03/2021

Content creator Nicole “Neekolul” Sanchez rose to infamy with her “Okay Boomer” TikTok dance. Since then, she’s grown a following on TikTok and Twitch. While Neekolul is often made fun of for being an “e-girl,” some people may have gone too far, and Neekolul decided to share her disturbing experience with an abusive ex.

In a TwitLonger, Neekolul shared details of an abusive relationship she had while she was 17 to 22 years old. She decided to discuss these years of abuse after the internet started mocking her for hitting her abuser and being characterized as an abuser herself. Neekolul said she was “tired of being quiet” about the public humiliation, physical abuse, mental abuse, and isolation she experienced at the hands of her former partner.

my story (tw// abuse) https://t.co/3zvNYB8YUT
— neekolul (@neekolul) March 14, 2021

Neekolul recalls her ex being manipulative and abusive when they first started dating when she was a teenager. This includes alleged slapping, choking, and even threatening her with a knife. At one point, she claims that her ex started driving recklessly and told her that he would kill both of them, that he took control of her finances, and often broke her belongings.

“I told the police at one point that I wanted to press charges with picture proof and text messages. The officer’s words still ring in my head that ‘you are too young to be going through this, you should rethink if you want to do this.’ I responded that I still wanted to press charges and he still tried talking me out of it,” Neekolul explained. “As a scared teenager I thought he must know better and I didn’t pursue it further.”

As the relationship continued, Neekolul says that the abuse escalated. This included punching her every time they got together. When they broke up, Neekolul’s ex became even more violent and threatening. He would often bang on her door to come in, grab her arm, and harass her with texts. She finally went to his house to confront him at one point, which resulted in him raising his arm to hit her. According to Neekolul, this is when she decided to slap him.

Neekolul ended up getting arrested for assault. She wound up at the police station for five hours.

“After all these years of receiving abuse I’m the one who ends up getting in trouble… I’ve seen a lot of people saying crazy stuff online but my only punishment was 12 classes of anger management and one year of good behavior and it would be dropped. The judge took into consideration my situation, everything I had been through, and saw I wasn’t a dangerous person. He even removed the automatically applied restraining order which is apparently very rare which I think shows people recognized I wasn’t the one causing problems,” Neekolul explained.

Neekolul said she decided to speak about her experience in hopes that people would “take abuse more seriously.” She said that victims are often manipulated or afraid of their abuser and wind up staying silent. She added that she feels bad she “stooped to his level” by slapping him, but she refuses to let people online view her as a “violent abuser.”

Pokimane, Keemstar, Destiny respond to Neekolul’s story of abuse

When Neekolul decided to share her experience, popular streamer Imane “Pokimane” Anys responded with a heart. Even controversial Drama Alert host Keemstar showed support for the TikTok star.

“When you become popular online people stop looking at you as an actual person and they start looking at you like a thing. They say evil stuff because they don’t think it will hurt you. So try to not let it bother you. They don’t really hate you the person. Just the thing,” Keemstar told her.

While many in the streaming community offered support to Neekolul, streamer “Destiny” felt that her document was manipulative. He accused her of convincing her following to be on her side with “mind-bending.”

“I can imagine a man releasing a thing like this…” Destiny ranted. “Driving to somebody’s house to ‘confront them,’ and then she did something to him that was severe enough that he called the cops and she got booked and convicted? What the fuck.”

Many agreed with the outspoken streamer, stating that a male streamer in Neekolul’s situation would have been banned from Twitch and dropped from their organization. But the majority of people on Twitter seemed to understand Neekolul’s situation and what led her to stand up for herself, even if she went about it in the wrong way.

Neekolul hasn’t made any further comment on the matter.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

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