Valorant harrasment leads Pokimane to go sub-only during streams

As a content creator with thousands of viewers each stream, it's not out of the ordinary for Imane "Pokimane" Anys to receive her fair share of mean comments. Sadly, it seems the Valorant community has taken toxicity to a new level, forcing the Twitch streamer to consider going sub-only during these broadcasts.

Sub-mode is a feature that prevents users that aren't currently subscribed to a streamer to interact in their chat, something Pokimane rarely uses, as she's been very open about avoiding such entry barriers, even setting a donation cap of $5 in place.

i’m really proud of the improvement i’ve made in valorant, especially bc it’s the first FPS game i’ve ever played. however, it really gets me down to see so many rude comments any time i play competitive.

i’m sorry to say but i think i have to stream in sub mode more often 😞

— imane (@imane) March 1, 2021

"I’m really proud of the improvement I’ve made in Valorant, especially bc it’s the first FPS game I’ve ever played," Imane tweeted out, adding that despite her improvements, reaching Diamond in competitive, "it really gets me down to see so many rude comments any time I play competitive."

Poki closed out by saying that she will "have to stream in sub-mode more often."

(Image: Pokimane)

The tweet, which was originally made in her main verified account, was removed and reuploaded to her secondary account, admitting that she did so she "shouldn’t owe people an explanation," but that she wanted to share with her community regardless.

• Read more: What is Pokimane's new YouTube channel about?

It's sad to see streamers gatekeep their communities to avoid toxicity, and we hope the Valorant community can become more welcoming of popular content creators giving the game a shot.