Twitch mega-streamer HasanAbi suspended over ongoing 'cracker' controversy

(Image credit: HasanAbi)

Popular streamer HasanAbi has been suspended from Twitch for a week, which he claims was due to him using the word 'cracker' on-stream.

He was slapped with the ban shortly after ending his stream on December 13, during which he had debated a viewer on the use of the word to describe white people. The conversation was a continuation of an earlier stream, in which he defended its use.

"I've been called a cracker more times than every single one of you f*****g pasty little cracker bitches in my chat, okay?" HasanAbi said in response to a viewer who called it an 'umbrella hateful term' for white people. "I've been called a cracker a fuckload more than you, do you know why? Because I'm extremely online, okay?"

HasanAbi continued: "Recognise that the person calling you a fucking cracker is literally powerless, okay? Sorry, it's just the truth. The person calling you a fucking cracker is powerless. They're doing it as someone who's been historically oppressed blowing off steam. You can say that that's infantilising or whatever the fuck, but that's truly the reality. Because there is no historical or contemporary oppression tied to that word because there is no historical or contemporary oppression with being white."

Following his suspension, HasanAbi tweeted out to say "it is exactly what you think it is" and claimed that it was "for using the term 'cracker.'" His comments and subsequent ban have stirred controversy on the likes of Reddit and Twitter, dividing opinions on whether HasanAbi was in the right. YouTuber Kurtis Conner simply replied to HasanAbi's tweet with "bruhhhh," while industry analyst Daniel Ahmad said: "Kinda wild how Twitch responded faster to this absolute non-issue than the actual racism that POC streamers face on the platform."

Some thought the ban was more justified, however. "While I get that the c word itself isn't that bad of a racist/not racist slur, he clearly was not joking around with his usage of the word and the attitude that came with it," one Reddit user wrote. "This all really could've been avoided." Another user called his ban "an absolutely hilarious conclusion to the last two and a half years of drama."

HasanAbi's suspension is for a week and for now, he says he's going to join newly-exclusive Ludwig over on YouTube, as well as appearing alongside Amouranth on Ethan Klein's channel.

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Mollie spent her early childhood deeply invested in games like Killer Instinct, Toontown and Audition Online, which continue to form the pillars of her personality today. She joined PC Gamer in 2020 as a news writer and now lends her expertise to write a wealth of features, guides and reviews with a dash of chaos. She can often be found causing mischief in Final Fantasy 14, using those experiences to write neat things about her favourite MMO. When she's not staring at her bunny girl she can be found sweating out rhythm games, pretending to be good at fighting games or spending far too much money at her local arcade.