Twitch has removed the popular PogChamp emote from their streaming platform, following comments from the emote star about last night’s violent riots at the Capitol. The announcement came just hours after PogChamp’s face, fighting game personality Ryan “Gootecks” Gutierrez, made inflammatory comments about the riots on social media and “encouraged further violence.”
“We cannot in good conscience continue to allow the use of the image”, Twitch said.
Last night, the Capitol was forcibly stormed by Trump supporters, spurred on by the president’s baseless allegations of voter fraud. Guitierrez called for “civil unrest” for one of the rioters who was shot and murdered in the Capitol, and encouraged followers to watch a “gruesome” video about her death.
“We made the decision to remove the PogChamp emote following statements from the face of the emote that incite further violence following what happened in the Capitol today,” Twitch announced.
PogChamp depicted Gutierrez’s face in a sort of shocked expression, and was one of the most popular emotes on Twitch. The phrases that came out, ‘pog’ and ‘poggers’, have become not only a big part of Twitch culture, but game culture in general.
“We want the sentiment and usage of Pog to live on,” Twitch added. “Its meaning is far greater than the person portrayed or the image itself – and it has a big place in Twitch culture. However, we cannot continue to use the image in good conscience. “
Twitch said they will work with the community “to design a new emote for some of the hype moments on Twitch.” Their Twitter thread is already packed with big and small streamers adding suggestions.