Twitch has indefinitely banned and de-partnered longtime streamer Ali "Gross Gore" Larsen for "adult sexual exploitation". Larsen found himself at the centre of a string of sexual assault allegations old and new last week, and was officially ousted from the streaming platform on March 18.
"After reviewing multiple incidents of serious violations of Twitch's Terms of Service related to your Twitch account 'grossie_gore', we are terminating the Agreement effective as of 3/18/2021 and indefinitely suspending your account effective immediately," read Twitch's message to Larsen. Hours after the ban, the 28-year-old took to Twitter to share a video claiming that it was a "mistake" and that he hoped his plea would be "heard by the right people."
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The allegations against Larsen quickly emerged over the weekend when he made a post on the RoastMe subreddit. Within hours, the thread was dominated by accusations and a growing list of of disturbing allegations, including but not limited to: videos of Larsen (then 18) talking about the time he asked a 15-year-old girl to show her breasts, an instance in which he claimed he slept with a 16-year-old while in his 20s, and one incident in which he apparently sent "revenge porn" to an ex-girlfriend's mother.
Larsen quickly deleted the original thread, but a new post was soon shared on r/LiveStreamFail that listed multiple instances of sexual assault, homophobia, and and racism, along with a bunch of video evidence and first-hand accounts from victims. In one upload, a fellow streamer called Jenna accused Larsen of sexually assaulting her during TwitchCon. Other users also claim that there were multiple incidents at the UK Runescape convention Runefest in 2018, including one video in which it looks as if Larsen is grabbing a woman's face to kiss her.
Not long after this raft of accusations came to light, a woman by the name of Eve came forward on Saturday to claim that Larsen had groomed her in 2008. She was 13 at the time, and he was 16.
"Ali offered me video opportunities, clan chat rankings, and being featured on his personal YT channel," she explained in a lengthy Twitlonger. "In exchange, all I had to do was moan as he masturbated...Even at 13 I knew I was doing something wrong, but I didn't understand until many years later how he used his power over me to help him masturbate."
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Larsen posted a YouTube video (above) that same day to suggest that many of the allegations had been taken out of context and that he was trying to be a better person. "There are some disgusting things from my past and I can promise you that's not who I am today," he said. "I look back, I cringe, I get embarrassed, and I regret so much."
Despite this, Twitch has now taken the decision to remove Larsen from the platform. In a statement shared with Kotaku, a spokesperson said: "The safety of our community is our top priority. We take appropriate action when we have evidence that a streamer has acted in violation of our Community Guidelines or Terms of Service, including in certain instances where the behavior may have taken place off Twitch. These apply to all streamers regardless of status or prominence in the community."
Larsen remains active on YouTube for the time being.
Featured Image Credit: Twitch/GrossGore