Twitch has finally responded to the platform’s controversial “Hot Tub Meta”, via its Head of Creator Development.
During a recent “Just Chatting” stream, Marcus “djWHEAT” Graham responded to the controversial trend while addressing the situation in accordance with Twitch’s terms of service [via Comicbook]:
“We understand at Twitch that this has been getting a lot of attention from the community lately, and we have been watching closely.
“Our nudity and attire policy does allow bathing suits in an appropriate context and hot tubs do fall under that criteria. However, what has not changed is the sexually suggestive and explicit content is not allowed under the guidelines, under the ToS, and Twitch will take action when that is reported to us”.
Some of you might be wondering what the “Hot Tub Meta” actually is.
Well, it’s all got to do with streamers being accused of creating sexually explicit content. The situation primarily appears to be targeting streamers like Indiefoxx, who does Tarot card readings from her hot tub.
While sitting in a hot tub wearing a bikini isn’t inherently sexual, some seem to be convinced that the content is inappropriate.
As you can imagine, the controversial trend has gained a lot of traction within the streaming community. While creators like Felix ‘xQc’ Lengyel have deemed the content as “pathetic”, Rachel ‘Valkyrae’ Hofstetter recently asked accusers, “Why are you so angry?”.
Despite Twitch’s reassurances that merely sitting in a hot tub in your bathing suit is permitted, some streamers have been banned from the platform.
Recently, the creator Imjasmine was banned from the platform after a hot tub wardrobe malfunction. While the ban only lasted for 24 hours, the incident is a testament to Twitch’s hard stance on nudity, even if it is accidental.
It’s worth mentioning that while streamers like Indiefoxx and imjasime are partial to a Twitch hot tub streaming session, they are also known for various other types of content. Personally, I think every creator should make some time to chill out in a hot tub from time to time.
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Featured Image Credit: Twitch/Discord:IndieFoxx/Twitch:Indiefoxx