Latest news with #StreamerAwards
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
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.
