Latest news with #Cinna
The Independent
07-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Twitch streamers receive death threats during live stream on Santa Monica Pier
Three popular Twitch streamers managed to flee a stalker who threatened to kill them before chasing them along Santa Monica Pier in California while they were in the midst of a livestream. Cinna, 28, Valkyrae, 33, and Emiru, 27, who are watched by millions on a range of social media platforms, were hosting a week-long marathon stream in California on Sunday evening. Things took a bad turn when a man suddenly became persistent, demanding one of the girl's phone numbers, and started issuing threats when she refused, despite innocently posing for a selfie moments before. The Santa Monica Police confirmed they were investigating the chilling incident after it was captured on one of the online star's livestreams. 'Let's take a picture', the man suggests, while the three streamers laugh and pose for the photo. One of the girls is then heard candidly remarking how 'sweet' the fan was. Later, the young man, who changed into a new outfit at this stage in the stream, then asks for Emiru's number. She quickly reacts, telling the man, 'I don't have a phone' and begins nervously walking away. The man persists and asks her to put her number into his phone. A panicked Emiru, real name Emily Schunk, says: 'I don't know how to use a phone – I'm sorry!' But the man, who introduced himself as Russell, fails to acknowledge the rejection and states: 'Wait, wait, wait – I'm just going to keep following her.' At that point, Cinna interjects, screaming to the man: 'You're going to have to get in line, there's too many stalkers!' Brittany Lynn Watts, who goes under the moniker of Cinna, has nearly 600K followers on Twitch, was named best female streamer at the Streamer Awards last year. The girls frantically start running away and 'Russell' is heard yelling: 'I'm going to kill you right now.' Valkyrae, real name Rachell Marie Hofstetter, revealed they had informed Santa Monica police of the incident, who confirmed reports of an individual who had issued threats, according to the BBC. The suspect reportedly managed to flee the pier and investigators are looking into surveillance and witness statements to understand 'the total picture', said Lt. Lewis Gilmour to Fox11 Los Angeles. Speaking about the incident, a day later on X, Valkyrae, also revealed that the stalker 'reached into his pockets multiple times' prompting her to run. She added: 'I'll never be out without a taser/pepper gun ever again, I'll never joke about being strong enough to handle being attacked again, and I'll always take threats like this seriously.' In a statement Monday, Cinna described the ordeal as terrifying. 'We're very much in shock [...] that does not do it justice for how scary it was', she added. According to the Department of Justice in 2023, statistics show that one in three women face stalking in their lifetimes – a statistic that is half as high for men.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Yahoo
Police investigating after man appears to threaten streamers in Santa Monica
Authorities are investigating after a man appeared to threaten a group of Twitch live streamers Sunday night on the Santa Monica Pier. The women, popular Twitch streamers known as Cinna, Valkyrae, and Emiru, were participating in a weeklong marathon stream in Los Angeles when the incident occurred. According to the victims, the suspect first introduced himself on their stream as 'Russell' before reappearing about 30 minutes later and issuing the threat. Police said the situation escalated when the man confronted Emiru, allegedly threatening her life after she refused to give him her phone number. In the live stream, the man can be heard threatening to kill someone. It's unclear if the threat was directed toward the streamers themselves or someone in the filming crew. The streamers, who have hundreds of thousands combined followers, immediately contacted authorities. Santa Monica police confirmed they responded to the incident and took a report. Officers moved the women to a safer location, but the suspect had already left the area by the time they arrived. Police could not confirm who the threats were directed specifically toward, but said it was someone in the group. In a statement, one of the streamers described the encounter as terrifying. 'We're very much in shock… that does not do it justice for how scary it was,' she said. The Twitch marathon was intended to be a positive event, the women noted, but they were left shaken by the encounter. Police have not released further details about the suspect, and the investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Santa Monica Police Department. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Sky News
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News
Twitch creators warn other women after 'stalker' threatens to kill them during live video stream
Three Twitch creators have issued a warning to others on the platform after a "stalker" followed and then threatened to kill them during a live video stream. Cinna, Valkyrae and Emiru, who have more than 3.6 million Twitch followers between them, were filming as part of a week-long marathon stream event they called "Sisathon" on Sunday night. The livestream showed them walking towards Pacific Park on Santa Monica Pier, California, when they were approached by a man in a grey hoodie who said his name was Russell. He stopped them and asked for a photo before Cinna, 28, said: "Yeah of course." The man then asked if he can "hang out with them" before the Twitch streamer, whose real name is Brittany Lynn Watts, said they can't because they are on a "time limit". The women then continued walking into the amusement park before the man appeared to head off in the other direction. However, around 20 minutes later, the livestream showed the moment the women walked past the same man, who was now wearing different clothes, as he was crouched down next to one of the rides. The Twitch streamers looked concern as the man asked Emiru, whose real name is Emily Schunk, for her phone number. The 27-year-old quickly replied that she didn't have a phone before the man told the group: "I'm going to keep following her (Emiru)." The women then walked off before looking frightened when he caught up with them minutes later. The man was off-camera as Cinna said "get away from her" and stood between him and Emiru. Valkyrae, whose real name is Rachell Marie Hofstetter, then started calling for security before the women screamed as the man ran towards them and shouted: "I'll kill you right now, I'll kill you right now." The Twitch streamers then fled from the park before the video cut out. In a separate video posted on Cinna's Twitch account on Monday, the streamer and Valkyrae gave a lengthy account of their ordeal. Cinna told her followers: "We are very much in shock and we need you guys to know, that clip does not do it justice for how scary it was." She added that Emiru is "safe" but needs time to "process it and stuff". "It is an attempt on our life and we are taking it very seriously," Cinna told her followers. She continued: "He said he was going to kill us, he kept trying to get something out of his pocket. We had to run into a store screaming that somebody was going to kill us." Cinna added: "For those of you who don't know, we know he's a stalker. When he was behind us, he pulled up Emmy's TikToks." Valkyrae posted on X after the ordeal that they were "OK" and had been with the police. She also shared a post criticising people who accused the women of staging what happened. Valkyrae wrote on X: "I hope other women and streamers learn from seeing this interaction and also be aware that this can happen to anybody." Meanwhile, Emiru said in a post on X on Monday: "I wish I could say this was some kind of one in a million incident, but the truth is, it is not. This is what life is like for girls. I hope if anything, people see what happened and realize how much of a reality it is for women and content creators as a whole." Santa Monica Police is said to have carried out a search for the suspect but were unable to find him. The force has reportedly said it is "aware of the video footage" and is "reviewing the information that has been shared publicly".
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Yahoo
Man threatens to kill Twitch streamers during livestream from LA
Three US Twitch streamers say they're grateful to be unhurt after a man threatened to kill them during a live stream. Cinna, Valkyrae and Emiru, who have millions of followers between them, had been taking part in a week-long marathon stream in Los Angeles on Sunday night. A man who introduced himself as Russell appeared on their stream from Pacific Park, Santa Monica, and reappeared about half an hour later saying "I'll kill you right now" when Emiru refused to share her contact details. Valkyrae, real name Rachell Marie Hofstetter, said they had spoken to Santa Monica police, who confirmed reports of an individual had made threatening statements. Cinna, real name Brittany Lynn Watts, has 500K followers on Twitch and was recognised last year at the Streamer Awards as best female streamer. In a follow up stream on Monday, she and Valkyrae became emotional as they spoke about what happened. "It sucks that a marathon that was to highlight women streamers is unfortunately ending up on one of the worst things that can happen to a female streamer," Cinna said. "We're very thankful it didn't end with one of us getting seriously hurt." In the stream on Sunday, a man was seen asking Emiru, real name Emily Schunk, for her phone number after the three streamers got off a fairground ride. When she says she doesn't have her phone, he suggests she enter her number into his, but she responds: "I don't know how to use a phone, I'm sorry". "I'm just going to keep following her," he says in response. The streamers then walk away, pull their hoods up and put on sunglasses while they wait for food before spotting the man again seconds later. He then chases the women, saying "I'll kill you right now" as they scream, run away and call for security. A Santa Monica Police spokesman told BBC Newsbeat officers escorted the streamers from the pier and conducted a search for the suspect. However, they said they had been unable to find him. "We are aware of video footage circulating online related to the incident and are reviewing the information that has been shared publicly," the spokesperson added. On Monday, Cinna said a clip from the stream, which has been shared widely online, "does not do it justice for how scary it was". "It is an attempt on our life and we are taking it very seriously. "He said he was going to kill us, he kept trying to get something out of his pocket. We had to run into a store screaming that somebody was going to kill us." Valkyrae, who has 3.4m followers on Instagram, said she hopes it's a "learning for other streamers". "It only takes one person, so be careful." Posting on X, she also said what happened demonstrates the "harsh reality women live in" and hit out at online comments that it was staged to drive hits. "Seeing accounts accusing my friends and I for faking this and blaming us instead of questioning the man's behaviour has been embarrassing to see. "I've learned it doesn't matter how much I accomplish in this industry or how much I try to gain respect, some men will hate women and blame women no matter the situation." Emiru did not appear in the follow-up stream on Monday but posted on X afterwards. "I wish I could say this was some kind of one-in-a-million incident, but the truth is, it is not," she said. "This is what life is like for girls. "I hope if anything, people see what happened and realise how much of a reality it is for women and content creators as a whole." BBC Newsbeat has contacted Pacific Park for comment. Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.
Express Tribune
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Streamers Cinna and Valkyrae break down in tears after being chased during IRL stream
During a Twitch livestream on March 3, 2025, popular streamers Cinna and Valkyrae broke down in tears as they recounted a terrifying experience from the previous night. Alongside fellow creator Emiru, the two were chased by an unidentified individual while IRL streaming on the sixth day of their "Sis-a-thon" Twitch marathon. According to Emiru, who later shared her experience in a post on X (formerly Twitter), the situation escalated when the stranger became hostile after she refused to give him her phone number. He then began making threats against the group, forcing them to flee. In an emotional Twitch stream, Cinna described the terrifying moment: "He kept running and trying to get something out of his pocket. When the clip cut off, we had to run into a store screaming that somebody was going to kill us so that someone would step in and help." She added, "We were lucky that one of the workers didn't question us and actually believed us. They took us all into the back." Cinna and Valkyrae cry while talking about the aftermath of when the stream cut off and they had to run to a shop to hide from the stalker — FearBuck (@FearedBuck) March 3, 2025 As Valkyrae consoled her, Cinna revealed that they were so fearful they had to hide in a shed for 15 minutes before the police arrived. Footage of the incident quickly went viral, sparking widespread outrage within the streaming community. Popular content creator Pokimane took to X to urge authorities to take action against the harasser. FULL VIDEO of Valkyrae, Cinna, and Emiru being stalked and lives threatened after a crazy fan demanded their phone numbers. — DramaAlert (@DramaAlert) March 3, 2025 Other streamers, including QTCinderella, emphasized the importance of professional security for female creators engaging in IRL broadcasts. While the trio managed to escape unharmed, the frightening ordeal has reignited discussions about online safety and harassment in the streaming world. Fans and fellow streamers continue to call for better protections for content creators facing real-world threats.
