Recently, videos surfaced showing a harrowing assault on Emiru at TwitchCon in San Diego this weekend. While participating in a meet-and-greet with fans, the prolific creator was approached by a man who forcefully embraced her, attempting to kiss her in front of a crowd that included security staff.
It was an event that has been lambasted by attendees and viewers, with Twitch’s management and security of the event coming under fire from numerous angles. In response to the event, Emiru, a cosplay and League of Legends streamer with two million followers, posted a lengthy statement berating Twitch and how the firm handled the assault.
‘That is a Blatant Lie’, Emiru Says
Emiru was attacked by a man at TwitchCon, and while the Twitch leadership and social teams stressed the incident was handled professionally, Emiru had other things to declare that directly conflict with those claims.
Here’s the full statement from Emiru following the TwitchCon assault:
Yesterday, the man who assaulted me was allowed to cross multiple barriers at twitchcon and even in front of another creators meet and greet to grab me and my face and try to kiss me. Fortunately he wasn’t able to, but a lot of people have pointed out it could have been a lot worse!
I’m obviously shaken up by what happened and it’s not the first time I’ve dealt with something like this, but to tell you honestly, I am a lot more hurt and upset by how Twitch handled it during and after the fact.
Like I said, I don’t understand how he was allowed to make it to me in the first place. The security in the clip who reacts is my own security (it’s true my favorite and usual security guard was banned for holding a stalkers arm to bring him to police, at a past Twitchcon)
However, there were at least 3 or 4 other TwitchCon security staff in the area who did not react and let the guy walk away, as you can see in the clip since they don’t even appear in the frame LOL
The woman who is walking me away is my own personal manager, and behind the booth, the only two people who were checking on me and comforting me were her and my friend. None of the Twitchcon staff came to ask what happened or if I was okay.
My friend who was present told me Twitch security were also behind the booth afterwards joking about how they didn’t even see what happened and immediately laughing and moving on to talking about something else.
So if no one was checking if I was okay or if I needed anything and they let the guy run away initially, I have no idea what anyone hired to keep the event safe was doing LOL
In Twitch’s statement they said that the guy was immediately caught and detained, I’m sorry but that is a blatant lie. He was allowed to walk away from my meet and greet and I didn’t hear he was caught until hours after he attacked me, and it felt like this only happened because of my manager pressing for it, not because Twitchcon staff present thought it was a big deal.
I have a lot more I want to say but I will say it on stream later today instead of writing a book on here.
Thank you guys again, sorry you all had to see that. This is definitely my last Twitchcon, and it saddens me to say as a 10 year off and on attendee of Twitchcon, I think other creators should seriously consider not attending in the future. I did not feel cared for or protected, even bringing my own security and staff. I can’t imagine how creators without those options would feel.
Some have compared the gravity of the event to the shooting of Christina Grimmie, a YouTube star turned professional artist who was gunned down in Florida almost a decade ago during an autograph signing event. It’s impossible to know the intentions of some before it’s too late.
This video shows the moment Emiru was assaulted:
Following Emiru being assaulted at TwitchCon, her fans took to social media platforms to hurl accusations and insults at Twitch for their handling of the incident, which has now been revealed as lacklustre at best.
TwitchCon continues to be a source of controversy and ill topics regardless of where it’s held or what Twitch does to keep it as secure as possible. Let me know on the Insider Gaming Discord server if you’ve got any horror stories from this year’s TwitchCon event.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news that Twitch viewbotting is ‘out of control’
Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
More from Grant Taylor-Hill
