Outcry over French streamer's death on air as authorities probe allegations of abuse

The Hill

9 hours ago

PARIS (AP) — The death of a French streamer during an extended broadcast prompted soul-searching and controversy, as a government minister said he had been 'humiliated and mistreated for months' on air and a judicial investigation delves into alleged abuse.
Raphaël Graven, 46, known as Jean Pormanove on social media, died Monday in southern France during a broadcast on the Kick livestreaming platform that had been running for more than 298 hours. French media reported the broadcast was interrupted soon after Pormanove's co-streamers found him unconscious and lying on a bed.
The prosecutor in the southern French city of Nice, Damien Martinelli, said an autopsy was being carried out on Thursday to determine the causes of the death.
A judicial investigation underway
Pormanove's death came as a judicial investigation was already underway into alleged violence and humiliations committed against him, prompted by reports from French investigative website Mediapart about what it described as the 'online abuse business.' Mediapart said co-streamers were allegedly mistreating Pormanove in live broadcasts, sometimes encouraged by payments from viewers, to generate more subscriptions and money.
The investigation opened in December is looking into 'deliberate violence against vulnerable persons' and 'spreading recordings of images related to offenses involving deliberate violations of physical integrity,' the Nice prosecutor's statement said. It did not specify why Pormanove could be considered vulnerable.
The statement said two co-streamers allegedly involved in the case were briefly taken into custody in January but were released pending further investigation.
In parallel, the Nice prosecutor said, investigators interviewed Pormanove and one of his co-streamers who both appeared to be victims of violence and humiliation. They 'strongly denied being victims of violence, stating that the events were staged in order to 'generate a buzz' and make money,' the statement said.
Co-streamers banned from the platform
Pormanove's death prompted strong reactions on social media as many users questioned the authorities' failure to act.
Clara Chappaz, Minister of Digital Affairs, said on X that Pormanove's death was 'absolutely horrific' and she had contacted the platform's managers for an explanation.
'Jean Pormanove was humiliated and mistreated for months live on the Kick platform,' she said.
Kick said all Pormanove's co-streamers who participated in the broadcast have been banned pending the outcome of the investigation.
'We are deeply saddened by the passing of Jean Pormanove and extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and community,' Kick said in a statement released on X.
'We are committed to cooperating fully with the authorities in this process,' the statement said. 'We are undertaking a comprehensive review of our French-language content.'
Over one million followers
According to French media reports, Pormanove was used to take part to so-called 'marathon' events on air for an extended period of time, with incentives for viewers to subscribe or make donations. He accumulated over one million followers on several video platforms, including over 192,000 on Kick.
An Australian company, Kick is a video streaming platform similar to Amazon's Twitch, but with a much more permissive moderation policy that allows gambling activities, sexually suggestive content or content involving humiliation or violence to be broadcast without automatic sanctions — attracting influencers banned from other platforms.
'All platforms have a legal responsibility to remove obvious illegal content of which they are aware,' Chappaz said.
Mediapart reported that a few hours before he died, Pormanove was the victim of abuse as some co-streamers slapped him and punched him several times.
Martinelli, the prosecutor, said investigators conducted several interviews with people who were present at the time of death and a large amount of material and video footage have also been seized.