Shocking Drama Unfolds as CEO’s Controversial Comments on Sex Worker ‘Prank’ Stream Drive Away Popular Kick Streamers!

The streamers are leaving Kick en masse in protest over the platform’s lack of safety guidelines, after a prominent creator streamed an encounter with a sex worker without informing her that other people were present. She was briefly prevented from leaving after she expressed her discomfort, while Kick’s CEO posted laughing emoticons in the broadcast’s chat.

“It sucks to see a platform behind someone who clearly has no respect for sex workers or their safety,” said Rachel, a streamer known as The food enthusiastWaifu, he told TechCrunch. “This was a job for her and a game for them. “This woman was clearly afraid and she was just trying to work and be safe.”

Paul Denino, a creator also known as Ice Poseidon, streamed the encounter on September 21. The interactions with the sex worker took place in a living room, while Denino and his partner Sam Pepper hid in an adjacent bedroom. The broadcast shows another man, named Andy, paying the sex worker $500 and asking for her consent to film. When the encounter became physical, Denino and Pepper made noises behind the door, which startled the woman. She tried to leave after receiving a text about the people in the other room, but Andy stopped her. When Andy reminded her that he had already paid her, she said the encounter was “creepy.”

“Why is it creepy?” Andy said. “It’s you and me and no one else.”

In a post days later, Denino disputed claims of a “hidden camera” and claimed the interaction was legal. Denino broadcast from Brisbane, Australia, where sex work is legal in licensed brothels or if a sex worker works privately and alone. He too released footage of a call allegedly asking the sex worker if he could film her, which she approved for an additional fee. Later in the clip, she tells Andy that she can’t stop the sex worker from leaving.

“Where is the mention that you two were hiding in the room? Creepy as fuck,” Repzion, another creator who streams on Kick, answered. “Did she consent to that? When she found out, she left because she felt uncomfortable. It sucks anyway.”

Kick has lured disenchanted Twitch streamers away from the platform with non-exclusive streaming deals, light moderation, and a coveted 95/5 revenue split. The platform is young, but its first year has been full of controversy – starting with its ties to a crypto betting site also owned by Kick CEO Eddie Craven. The latest scandal is a wake-up call for many of its streamers, especially women who wonder if the platform is safe for them.

The platform addressed the incident in a public publication earlier this week, stating that public and community safety “cannot be compromised” in the creation of content.

“We continually learn where this balance lies and make changes daily,” the post continues. “We appreciate our community for the continued feedback, both good and bad. We will keep you informed about upcoming changes to community guidelines and subsequent enforcement actions.”

Kick did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment. in a statement to 404 MediaThe company said they “continually review and refine” their policies, but cannot reveal specific details “for privacy and confidentiality reasons.”

“Our goal is to maintain a fair and consistent approach to content moderation, while respecting the privacy of our users and employees,” the statement said.

The company also removed Denino from the home page and featured category, which Bree, another Kick transmitter, described as a “beginning.” Returning to Twitch is not an option for her, she said, because of the harassment she faced on the platform.

“Kick’s decision not to ban him hurts, but I think from a business standpoint with contracts involved you can’t just ban someone,” he said in a DM. “I feel like a lot of people are focusing on this, while our time could be better spent working together to improve our platform.”

Kick’s pale response infuriated both streamers and viewers. Bob, a creator known as bobpatonweaveHe described the incident as “simply disgusting” and criticized the platform’s “lack of response.”

“I understand that the woman on the stream did in fact give consent, but the premise alone was pretty bad for a site ostensibly focused on gaming/creative content,” he said via DM.

He is one of many streamers who vowed to leave the platform after the incident.

in a thread In announcing his departure, he apologized for his association with the platform and told TechCrunch that he thought it would improve.

Bob acknowledged that the platform has had a number of controversies in its short existence; more recently, a offensive fake interview between white supremacist sympathizer Adin Ross, accused sex trafficker Andrew Tate and a Kim Jong Un impersonator, and that seeing Craven laugh at the sex worker was “more than enough to kill any hope that the platform would have the intention to improve any of its policies.”

Rachel, who also makes cooking videos on YouTube, also decided to leave Kick despite the opportunities it gave her as a smaller creator. She began streaming on the platform because she was burning out on Twitch and she believed Kick would find stronger moderation over time.

“I can’t support a platform that thinks it’s okay to view people as objects,” he said in a direct message. “I’m not saying that if people choose to stay on the platform, they are in favor of encouraging this behavior. I say it for myself, I can no longer say that I broadcast on Kick. This will be a [financial] “It will definitely be affected, not as much for some larger streamers, but enough to feel it with inflation at an all-time high right now.”

But others can’t afford to take the hit and can’t rely solely on Twitch to pay their bills.

The default revenue split for partners is 50/50, but certain streamers were offered a 70/30 premium deal until last year. Twitch cut that deal in favor of the platform’s ad revenue program, angering many of its most loyal creators. Partners included in the deal still received a 70% cut of the first $100,000 they earned, and 50% of any income after that.

The platform launched a new Member Plus Program this year, allowing qualified streamers to apply for the same treatment granted to streamers exempt from the 70/30 split. The strict requirements exclude most Twitch partners and do not count gifted subscriptions towards the minimum subscription requirement. further straining the relationship between the platform and its creators. Although Twitch adjusted the program so that higher tier subscriptions count more points toward the minimum subscription requirement, it was not the change streamers were requesting.

Kelly, a streamer known as MrsViolence, joined Twitch when she was still works as Justin.tv. She began streaming full-time when she had to leave her career as an esports coach and presenter due to her health. Like many streamers who joined Twitch before its explosive pandemic growthKelly was offered a 70/30 income split. About a year ago, before Twitch removed the premium income deal, Kelly’s income on Twitch was just over $1,000 per month (up to $1,200 on a “really good month”) with over 700 paid subscribers. She supplemented her income with tips and Onlyfans subscriptions.

When the income split changes went into effect earlier this year, Kelly’s monthly income fell to about $400. Since she stopped prioritizing her Twitch channel, her monthly income on Twitch is around $120. That prompted her to start streaming on Kick, where she said she makes more than $1,000 a month with just 145 subscribers.

“That covers all my rent and groceries and then a night out with my boyfriend,” Kelly said in a call with TechCrunch. “So I don’t care if it’s run by some underground Dark Web loser. He is making people money and helping them through the worst economic depression we have ever seen.”

That’s not to say that Ice Poseidon’s current didn’t affect her.

“I burst into tears,” he continued. “I was like, now I’m part of this website that has crazy pieces of shit and there’s nothing I can do about it, and I refuse to go back and make pennies on Twitch.”

As a creator who has worked in the gaming industry for more than a decade, Kelly said she will continue creating content wherever she can make money, because her chronic health conditions prevent her from returning to being an in-person host and coach. She experienced “so much abuse” as a woman on Twitch and is not optimistic about other live streaming platforms like Rumble or YouTube. Kelly added that in its early days, Twitch was as intemperate and violently misogynistic as parts of Kick are today. The streaming community can’t trust platforms to work for the benefit of their creators, she said, and instead has to wait for local governments to step in to regulate safety.

“I feel very small. “There’s nothing we can do and it’s a fight that I think a lot of people are investing their lives in and trading their careers, their money, their income, for something that can’t be changed,” Kelly said. “I’m very numb. Desensitized is a big word. I feel sorry for people, I understand. But at the same time I was able to survive in this silly world. As if gasoline had risen again!