Twitch bans term "hot tub streamer" from chat on its channels

Olivia Richman Published 15/05/2021

Twitch has banned the term “hot tub streamer” from their official channel’s chat.

One Reddit user shared a screenshot of the ban happening during a Twitch stream. After someone wrote “hot tub streamers” in the chat, they received the following automatic reply: “Your message wasn’t posted due to conflicts with the channel’s moderation settings.”

This immediately riled up the Twitch community, who have already expressed disdain for how Twitch is responding to ongoing complaints about the “hot tub meta” on the streaming platform.

Twitch hot tub

Twitch bans “hot tub streamer” as controversy continues

The Reddit post led to a series of complaints from the Twitch community, who felt they were being silenced. The banning of the term “hot tub streamer” made them feel like Twitch was further avoiding any action in regards to the continued frustrations with the number of hot tub streams. Instead of responding to people’s arguments and concerns, Twitch appeared to be completely silencing anyone who spoke up on the channel.

Throughout 2021, some Twitch viewers have expressed disdain for the “hot tub meta” on the streaming platform. This refers to the growing amount of streamers, mostly female, that strip down to a revealing outfit and chat from an inflatable pool or hot tub while broadcasting.

A lot of people have shared their reasoning behind the frustration. The usual complaints include that the suggestive content is not appropriate for children and that it’s ruining the reputation of Twitch, which used to be centered around gaming. Some hot tub streamers have used the live content to advertise their OnlyFans, sometimes even sending out links to their accounts in emails to subscribers.

While some hot tub streamers have faced light consequences for actions taken during their hot tub streams, most of the women have not faced any repercussions from Twitch. This has led many to feel that the streaming platform is inconsistent and even “simping” for certain female streamers. That’s because many male streamers have been banned, sometimes for over a month, for far less explicit content.

Last month, Twitch’s head of creator development, Marcus “djWHEAT” Graham, addressed the ongoing complaints. djWHEAT essentially told hot tub meta haters that they can simply click the “I’m not interested” button. His response further angered those who were already disgruntled, with many responding that he wasn’t addressing the actual reasons people were growing angry with Twitch.

“Severely disappointed at djWHEAT and Twitch’s response to the ‘hot tub meta,'” streamer Major Arlene tweeted. “It’s incredibly clear you have not watched more than two minutes of any of the streams or you don’t know your own TOS. Reporting systems have done nothing.”

As the backlash continues, Twitch has apparently attempted to suppress the growing controversy by banning the term from their official channel. Twitch hasn’t publicly addressed the change to their channel.

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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