Two attacks on attacks on streamers this weekend have drawn attention to the issue of safety for female creators. These attacks highlight the often scary intersection of fame and easy access that even large creators can find themselves in.
The Sis-A-Thon Takes Ends Abruptly After a Stalker Attack
Valkyrae, Cinna, and Emiru were forced to cut their subathon IRL stream short after a stalker hijacked the event. Footage of the incident, seen above, shows the unidentified man approaching the trio near Santa Monica Pier. He “proposed” to the trio and told them he wanted to sing a song to them. He then demanded their phone numbers. The creators politely declined.
Later that evening, they encountered the man again. When they tried to walk away, he started chasing them, saying: “I’ll kill you right now.” Security then got involved, and the stream ended.
Both Valkyrae and Cinna then took to X to reassure fans of their safety. “Unfortunately, we have end the marathon and need time to process what happened as we [are in] shock at the moment,” Cinna wrote. “Thank you for all the love and support on the marathon.”
Valkyrae added that the group “have been with the police,” and that for now they were “done with the marathon” as they “need time to process” what happened. “That end of marathon brunch stream we had planned tomorrow with friends will be rescheduled for sometime in the far future,” she noted.
No further details of the incident have been revealed. There’s been a lot of speculation as to what triggered the attack, but according to X user Sean, it’s part of a more systemic issue.
“This happening right after a campaign to paint these same streamers as ‘untalented’ and ‘low effort creators’ is not a coincidence,” he wrote. He then highlighted a number of X posts criticising female streamers for not putting in the same “effort” as the likes of Kai Cenat.
Amouranth’s Home Invasion Nightmare
Another violent incident happened on March 2, when Amouranth was allegedly robbed at gunpoint. She posted a series of concerning X posts saying: “I’m being too robbed at gunpoint,” before following this up with, “This is not a prank help.”
In a later post, she confirmed that while she was “bleeding,” she was stable and on her way to the hospital. She also posted a video of her front yard, which was overrun with blue and red sirens.
In subsequent posts, she gave more details about what happened, saying that she was pulled out of bed and held at gunpoint. The attackers, she said, then demanded she log in to her crypto wallets. In response, Amouranth says she shot one of the home invaders. “Iām covered in blood, but only some of it is mine,” she said in her latest post. “Iāll update yall later but Iām safe now.”
The Female Creator Safety Tax
Luckily, nobody was seriously hurt. However, these incidents show the price female streamers often pay for simply existing.
On March 1, one day before this weekend’s attacks, creator Druilla Kuma pleaded with fans for privacy. In a post on X, she had to beg fans not to stalk her or other creators.
Recently, Pokimane opened up about the lengths she has to go to keep herself safe, revealing that she spends up to five figures on security.
This financial burden female streamers have to shoulder has been coined the “female creator safety tax.” As demonstrated by these incidents, it’s a necessary price female streamers have to consider. It isn’t fair, but investing in security is something female creators especially should seriously consider.
Creator followings are often parasocial relationships. As your world is opened to more people, more monsters will see in. Safety for female creators is not a new issue. Rebecca Schaeffer and Theresa Saldana were famously victims of stalkers even back in the 80s. But in a time when algorithms are designed to boost anger and drama, it feels like a growing one.
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