Twitch CEO Dan Clancy reportedly admitted that TwitchCon 2025 fell short both in protecting one of its women streamers and in its response after she was attacked during the event.
Emiru – real name Emily-Beth Schunk — was taking photos with her fans when a man emerged from the crowd, grabbed her, and tried to kiss her without her consent. The streamer’s personal security team intervened and pushed the man away, but Twitch’s security team didn’t apprehend the man until hours later.
She called out the incident in a social media post on October 18.
“Yesterday, the man who assaulted me was allowed to cross multiple barriers at twitchcon and even in front of another creators meet and greet to grab me and my face and try to kiss me. Fortunately he wasn’t able to, but a lot of people have pointed out it could have been a lot worse!” she wrote. “I’m obviously shaken up by what happened and it’s not the first time I’ve dealt with something like this, but to tell you honestly, I am a lot more hurt and upset by how Twitch handled it during and after the fact.”
She said Twitch’s statement that the man was caught immediately after the incident was a “blatant lie” and claimed that multiple Twitch security personnel in the vicinity did nothing to stop the man.
The streamer said that the event would be her final TwitchCon after going on and off for a decade.
The incident sparked days of condemnation and debate in Twitch creator spaces, as other streamers — especially women with aggressive male fans and stalkers — called out the company for its allegedly lackluster security.
Pokimane, a massively popular Twitch streamer, responded to Emiru’s post, wishing her well and saying that she hopes “this pushes Twitch to finally take our concerns seriously.”
Clancy issued a statement this week acknowledging that Twitch “failed, both in allowing [the incident] to occur and in our response following.”
Days after the incident, Clancy drew criticism for a video interview he gave, claiming that “the challenge we face is a challenge in today’s society. It’s not limited to Twitch, it extends throughout our society.”
In the most recent statement, he apologized for his comments.
“We mismanaged our communications about the incident, and that includes the comments I made. I apologize to Emiru for all that took place,” Clancy said.
He went on to say the company was reviewing the incident and using it to rethink how it runs events like meet-and-greets.
“For Meet and Greets, we’ve begun a complete analysis of the incident that took place, as well as other issues that came to our attention after TwitchCon concluded,” he said. “We’re examining everything, from how we do sign-ups to the layout to increased security controls.”
Clancy said the company will be making security changes for upcoming conventions, but that further details would come at a later date.
“You put a lot of trust in us by attending TwitchCon, and we take our responsibility to keep you safe seriously,” he said. “We know that TwitchCon means a lot to a lot of people, and it means a lot to us. Be on the lookout for more updates, and thanks for being a part of Twitch.”
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