Twitch CEO Dan Clancy has reportedly admitted that TwitchCon 2025 failed both to protect one of its female streamers and to respond after she was assaulted during the event.
Emiru – real name Emily Betschunk – was taking pictures with her fans when a man came out of the crowd, grabbed her and tried to kiss her without her consent. The streamer’s personal security team intervened and removed the man, but Twitch’s security team did not arrest the man until several hours later.
He announced the incident on October 18 in a social media post.
“Yesterday, the guy who attacked me was allowed to go through multiple obstacles at twitchcon and even meet and greet in front of another creator to grab me and my face and try to kiss me. Luckily he didn’t, but many people have pointed out that it could have been a lot worse!” “Obviously I’m sorry for what happened and it’s not the first time I’ve dealt with something like this, but honestly, I’m much more hurt and saddened by how Twitch handled it during and after,” he wrote.
He said Twitch’s claim that the man was arrested immediately after the incident was a “blatant lie” and claimed that several Twitch security personnel around did nothing to stop the man.
The streamer said the event will be his last TwitchCon after a decade of being on and off.
The incident sparked days of condemnation and debate in Twitch’s creator spaces, as other streamers — particularly women with male fans and aggressive stalkers — called out the company for lax security.
Pokemon, a hugely popular Twitch streamer, responded to Emiru’s post and wished him luck, saying he hoped “this will finally make Twitch take our concerns seriously.”
Clancy issued a statement this week acknowledging that Twitch had “failed to allow both. [the incident] occur and our response is as follows.”
A few days after the incident, Clancy was criticized 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 community.”
He apologized for his statements in his latest statement.
Clancy said: “We did not manage our communications regarding this incident, and that includes comments I made. I apologize to Amiro for all of this.”
He went on to say that the company is investigating the incident and using it to review how it runs events like meet and greets.
“For Meet and Greets, we have begun a full analysis of the incident as well as other issues that came to our attention following the conclusion of TwitchCon,” he said. “We’re looking at everything from how we sign up to how we design and enhance our security controls.”
Clancy said the company will make security changes for future conventions, but more details will be provided 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 TwitchCon means a lot to a lot of people, and it’s very important to us. Stay tuned for more updates and thanks for being a part of Twitch.”
