Twitch is a giant of gaming and streaming, and it is the platform by which many gamers and fans view their favorite streamers and content creators. It is fair to say then that Twitch is a popular platform by many accounts, and has given some people their careers. However, popularity and presence over the internet does not mean that Twitch is safe from criticism or having insults thrown at it. If anything, those two factors often make criticism that much more likely.
The streaming titan has had shade thrown at it from viewers, and even the more outspoken of its streamers. Famous streamer xQc criticized Twitch's recent channel boosting feature, stating that it would overall hurt the streaming economy of the platform. Now, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay is the latest public figure to allegedly throw some shade over at the streaming platform over Twitter.
Prior to his comment, Ramsay had posted a tweet seemingly interested in Twitch, asking what the platform was. This previous Tweet received an outpouring of positive feedback from the Twitch community, with aforementioned streamer xQc even reaching out and offering to stream with the celebrity chef. Now though, viewers and streamers are looking at the chef differently as he posted a tweet seemingly throwing shade at the platform.
The tweet is an advertisement for Ramsay's latest show, Next Level Chef, where he states that if potential viewers missed the airing of the show, they can "stream it on Twitc—seriously !?!? It’s on FOXNOW or @hulu soon." The mention of Twitch followed by "seriously" has many feeling that Ramsay is mocking the idea of a show streaming on the platform. This seems a departure from his previous interest in the platform. As is often the case on Twitter, a court of public opinion quickly formed, similar to another recent controversy following the showrunner for The Witcher answering questions by a divided audience on the social media platform.
Gordon Ramsay's tweet was met with divided viewpoints as well. Some saw Ramsay's comment as mocking the platform he'd previously shown interest in, while others saw Ramsay's tweet as nothing unusal for the Hell's Kitchen star. As a celebrity known for his temper and outspoken nature, many assumed the chef was trolling, and one user told Ramsay "don't listen to the haters or the lawyers Chef," which is a piece of advice many Twitch streamers have used in the past including the streamer Amouranth who recently stated that her haters are the reason she will never burn out.