InvaderVie Twitch Subscriber Shaming Controversy

Overview

InvaderVie Twitch Subscriber Shaming Controversy refers to the events surrounding Twitch streamer InvaderVie criticizing viewers for not subscribing or supporting her channel. In mid-April 2020, InvaderVie discussed the topic of subscriptions during a broadcast, stating that anyone watching the platform or her content should contribute, and if they didn’t have money to spare, they should be working instead. Her statements, which were covered by several news websites and other streamers, resulted in a wave of backlash.

Background

On April 14th, 2020, Canadian Twitch^[1] streamer InvaderVie asked viewers to pay her full subscription price ($5 per month) during a livestream of Just Chatting, arguing that anyone who has time to watch Twitch should be able to pay for content. In the video (featured below), she said, “It doesn't matter how broke you are. If you have time to watch Twitch, you have $10. If you don't have $10, you probably don't have time to watch Twitch, because you should be working. You should be trying to earn money.”

InvaderVie went on to add that any currency around the world couldn’t cost anyone more than a maximum of $10 USD. After a viewer then commented in the channel’s chat that they were unemployed and could only spend money on essentials, such as food, she refuted the claim and added, “No one's going to convince me that what I'm saying is so rude, or so unacceptable, or so outrageous. It just simply isn't.” Doubling down on her view, she continued by saying any viewers that claim they’re too broke to pay for subscriptions were irresponsible with their finances and that there were no excuses.

Online Reactions

Following her stream, the statements began stirring up several discussions and reactions from users across a wide array of social platforms and websites as they criticized her for “shaming” viewers into contributing, especially during a worldwide economic crisis due to the coronavirus pandemic. One such example comes from Twitter^[2] user HyPno614, who replied to one of Dexerto’s tweets on April 18th, 2020, discussing the clip. The tweet (seen below) received 550 likes and 20 retweets.

Another Twitter^[3] reply from user eyforz on a video of InvaderVie streaming Zelda includes a frequently seen statement made online, referencing her quote about viewers being “irresponsible.” This tweet (shown below) was liked 439 times.

Under the same video, Twitter^[4] user MikkoSulamaa replied with the “never subbed” Twitch copypasta, receiving 984 likes and 37 retweets (seen below).

Twitter^[5] user Twizz_Fizz, known for her parodies of Twitch streamers, uploaded a video on April 20th, 2020, depicting her as a parody InvaderVie during the controversial broadcast. This video (shown below) was liked over 35,000 times and retweeted 3,800 times.

Ninja also took to Twitter^[6] to address the event on April 20th, 2020, retweeting an earlier clip discussing the topic (seen below). The video originally comes from late March, but Ninja added in the caption, “Retweeting and reposting this vid because I have seen more clips of small streamers still doing this shit.” The tweet received over 9,400 likes and 827 retweets.

On Reddit, two posts to the r/LivestreamFail sub garnered thousands of upvotes each with links to other streamers commenting on the controversy. One such post was made by Redditor^[7] IAMJUANMARTIN on April 20th, 2020. The post, which features a clip from IWDominator (shown below), received over 3,400 upvotes and 319 comments.

Redditor^[8] PapiRay7 posted another clip to the subreddit shortly after on April 20th, 2020, featuring xQc’s take on the comments (seen below). This post was upvoted over 5,300 times and commented on another 270 times.

Search Interest

External References