Twitch streamer unable to ban Twitch staff after they “gaslit” him in chat

Eleni Thomas
Twitch header

A Twitch streamer was left visibly distressed after a Twitch staff member joined his livestream and began telling him off, with the streamer then expressing how much the interaction triggered his “anxiety”, especially when realizing he was unable to ban the staff member from the chat.

Twitch staff member Seth Hendrix joined Harris Heller’s stream when the content creator was discussing the recent controversy surrounding the platform in regard to its Branded Content guidelines. The staff member then commented in the chat, “No one is saying you’re wrong about anything. Just you have so many assumptions that are so way off.”

Heller then began showing signs of discomfort before stating, “I’m happy to be wrong but just tell me I’m wrong. Don’t tell me I’m wrong and then say I’m not saying you’re wrong…I don’t understand why we’re having this conversation. If Twitch is trying to fix its appearance with streamers, you can’t come into a streamer’s chat.”

Heller then showed more discomfort before stating, “I want to end my stream right now because I feel so uncomfortable by getting gaslit by Twitch staff on my livestream. Like what is happening here?”

He then tried to ban the staff member from the chat before quickly realizing he is unable to do so. Part of the system that Twitch has in place is that staff cannot be removed or banned from streams, meaning that Harris was unable to do anything about the situation despite it triggering his “ social anxiety” in a big way.

Twitch streamer distressed after staff member joins chat

In the aftermath, Heller took to Twitter to explain what happened and how he was left feeling afterward.

“Hey guys. Yeah this was super weird and my social anxiety was sky-high but people deal with way worse on stream every day. It’s not a huge deal. I just shut down stream and played outside with my daughter instead. 10/10 would recommend.”

However, Heller did then state that he does not want his followers or anyone else sending “hate” towards the staff member, writing that it is “not worth it.”

For all the latest Twitch news and updates, be sure to check out Dexerto’s full coverage here.

Sign up to Dexerto for free and receive:
Fewer Ads|Dark Mode|Deals in Gaming, TV and Movies, and Tech