By Ineza Merci
During the opening day of TwitchCon 2025, popular streamer Emiru found herself at the center of an unfortunate incident. While hosting a meet-and-greet, a man bypasses the line, coming from the side–seemingly out of security’s vision–then grabs Emiru’s face, leaning in to kiss her without her consent. The recorded incident spread like wildfire and Emiru has since spoken out about the assault.
Emiru (real name Emily-Beth Schunk) is a streamer with nearly 2 million followers on Twitch. The creator is best known for her video game content and cosplaying. The incident has brought the conversation surrounding parasocial behaviors–against women–up again. Before the convention, streamer and friend of Emiru, Valkyrae, made the decision not to go to the convention due to feeling unsafe. In a stream, she stated, “I’m just really uncomfortable with the world right now…I don’t feel safe”. Some online users viewed Valkyrae’s statement as an overreaction, but looking in hindsight her feelings were valid.
In response to the alleged assault, Twitch wrote, in part, “The safety and security of all those attending TwitchCon is our highest priority.” The fact that an individual could so easily bypass barriers and physically engage with the creator is shocking if safety is Twitch’s “highest priority”.Â
Security FailuresÂ
Emiru went live to address what happened, providing insight on how security was “nowhere to be found”. In the said live, Emiru revealed that Twitch security said, “Wait, what happened? I didn’t see anything, ha ha.” and went about their day. And as punishment, the attacker was banned from the platform for 30 days. That’s it.
Many female streamers have brought the issues with stalking, harassment and safety at similar conventions. What happened at TwitchCon raises this question: how are live-event platforms going to protect their creators? What standard of security should be expected at these events?
The Parasocial RealityÂ
Parasocial relationships occur when fans feel a deep emotional connection to creators or public figures that appear “accessible’. In a Psychology Today article, parasocial relationships are one-sided and depict a connection that is not reciprocated. When these people think they are emotionally connected to a public figure and then are ignored, emotions of anger can develop, resulting in stalking, harassment, or worse.Â
The RevelationÂ
The assault on Emiru shows viewers how admiration can turn into aggression when there are no boundaries put in place, i.e security. The assault is also more than an isolated incident–it’s an indication of deeper issues in creator-fan dynamics, especially as the streaming culture grows. Just as a reminder, creators, while accessible digitally, are people who deserve to be safe and they deserve dignity.