AMOURANTH/Twitch GymShark/Wikipedia @cinnabrit/X Twitch.tv/Emiru/Twitch Bonkers Toys
While being a creator can be incredibly rewarding, it can also turn nasty. Really nasty. The creator economy has been left shocked this week after a numerous disturbing events came to light.
Some creators, like Valkyrae and Cinna, received threats to their life, while others, like Amouranth, were held at gunpoint. It’s also been alleged that Passes allowed the distribution of child pornography, with talent managers purportedly pressuring underage creators into making explicit content.
When harrowing events like these happen, it can be hard to reconcile the good with the bad. Other, less significant events have happened too this week which we’ve also reported on, but nonetheless, all the articles featured in this round-up demonstrate the importance of astute reporting and analysis on the creator economy as a beat.
Attacks on Amouranth and The Sis-A-Thon Raise Concerns About Safety For Female Creators
One thing that we learned this week was that fame can sometimes come with a price. Especially if you’re a woman. On March 2, Valkyrae, Cinna, and Emiru were left terrified after a stalker interrupted their Sis-A-Thon IRL stream.
He started by badgering the women for their numbers, but this soon escalated to him giving chase and threatening to kill them. As a result, Valkyrie and Cinna canceled the rest of the Sis-A-Thon event.
That same night, Amouranth turned to X for help after armed invaders forced their way into her home to steal her crypto wallets. By the time emergency services arrived, she shot one of the invaders. As we explain in this piece, these two events happening the same day show the dangers that come with parasocial relationships and putting certain details about yourself online.
You can read the full piece here.
A Reddit Co-Founder Has Now Joined ‘The People’s Bid for TikTok’
There’s less than a month until TikTok’s latest “ban or sell” deadline arrives. Quite ironically, you could say that the clock is ticking. However, billionaire Frank McCourt’s bid to buy TikTok hasn’t gone very far.
He’s gathered a conglomerate of various tech leaders and investors to form what he calls “The People’s Bid for TikTok.” And the latest figure to join this brat pack is Alexis Ohanian, the co-founder of Reddit.
Specifically, Ohanian is joining the group as a social media strategic advisor. “Where he [Ohanian] can help mostly is validating but also socializing what we’re doing,” McCourt said to Reuters.
To learn more about Ohanian, “The People’s Bid for TikTok” and Project Liberty, click here.
Who Puts the Skibidi in the Toilet? Talking To Bonkers Toys At The NYC Toy Fair
One of the hallmarks of a thriving fandom is an extensive collection of merch (even if it’s a bootleg or two on RedBubble). This is something writer Steven Asarch realized first-hand when he attended Toy Fair 2025 at NYC’s Javits Center. One company that especially caught his attention was Bonkers Toys.
Best known for its official Skibid Toilet merch line, Bonkers Toys has worked with several creators to bring the zanyness of the internet to life. In an interview with Asarch, the company detailed how they embed themselves into various internet fandoms and subcultures to decide what internet oddity will become a hit toy IRL.
You can read the full piece here.
Twitch Has a Moderation Problem
On March 3, political streamer Hasan Piker was suspended from Twitch (*pretends to be shocked*). This time around, it’s because he made a joke about US Senator Rick Scott; a joke that some perceived as an incitement of violence.
Piker apologized for the comment, but maintained that politicians who defund healthcare should face some form of punishment. Nonetheless, Twitch lifted the suspension just a day later, and as a result, backlash has erupted against the platform.
It’s led to streamers like xQc claiming that its moderation system is unfair, but does this argument have any merit? In this article, Steven Asarch assesses just how proportionate Twitch’s moderation system is, and the truth is, it’s a doozy.
Check out the full piece here.
Passes Lawsuit Exposes the Ethical Minefield of Underage Creators
Founded in 2022 by Lucy Guo, Passes is a creator subscription platform which competes with the likes of Patreon and OnlyFans. From the start, one of Passes’ unique selling points was the fact that they let creators as young as 15 join the platform — provided they complete a rigorous parental consent process. However, a recent lawsuit has exposed the dark consequences of this decision.
The suit, which was filed by 18-year-old Alice Rosenblum, alleges that talent managers helming from Passes pressured her into producing and distributing explicit content while she was underage.
Passes have vehemently denied these allegations and have indicated that it intends to fight back against this case, but as Taylor Lorenz points out in her analysis of this lawsuit, it has already caused shockwaves in the wider creator community.
You can read her deep-dive in full here.
Passionfruit on YouTube: The Reactorverse Podcast Ep. 49
Our latest episode of the Reactorverse podcast is almost two hours long — but time flies when you’re chatting to brilliant reactors like Meesh & Dee. The duo, who recently got married, describe themselves as “medical and legal professionals by day, and TV bingers by night.”
Since starting their channel in 2023, they’ve amassed 60,100 subscribers: carving out a niche for themselves by reacting to animated content such as Avatar: The Last Airbender, Demon Slayer, and Hazbin Hotel, among others. Jam-packed full of anecdotes and insights, this isn’t an episode you want to miss — so be sure to check out the full video above.
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