Pokimane Opens Up Regarding Harassment

Imane “Pokimane” Anys, a female streamer, has had to deal with harassment both on and off-stream.

Harassment is nothing new for Twitch’s most popular female streamer. She recently dealt with hate raids and has now spoken out about a frightening offline situation. Pokimane is well-known in her daily life, which comes as no surprise. She has almost 8.9 million Twitch followers and 6.7 million YouTube subscribers. Fans don’t always ask for selfies with Pokimane when they meet him. Pokimane was so terrified on February 10 that she had to flee from two males.

Pokimane shared her experience on Instagram. She explained that she was walking alone to her friend’s house when two males in a parking lot began yelling at her. One of them began singing “Happy Valentine’s Day to You,” which she found strange. But she responded, “You too.” The problem, however, only got worse from there. One of the men joked that Pokimane could be “milk to [his] cereal with that skirt,” and the men began chanting a menacing tune about wanting to “see what’s under that skirt.”

Pokimane responded by running. Pokimane, who was alone and in a vulnerable circumstance, was terrified by the situation. She decided to utilize that story as a lesson for any male Instagram followers who might be reading it. Pokimane initially posted the tale because she thought it was “cringe” but she then realized it was a means to raise awareness of a tragically prevalent circumstance that many women suffer.

Pokimane stated; “Please don’t be that guy. It pissed me off that he thought it was okay and funny to yell those things to me. Likely because I was alone. His friends didn’t say sh-t either.” 

Pokimane’s community came out in support of her, which she expressed gratitude for. She expressed her hope that her town will remain safe and that people will “look out for your friends.”