Is Pokimane transphobic? What really happened?

Is Pokimane Transphobic? Why is this big question on the lips of a major part of the Twitch community today? What exactly did she do?

Pokimane aka Imane Anys is one of the biggest names on Twitch and YouTube today. With friendly content and a huge fanbase, she has carved out her perfect niche in the world of streaming media.

So, why did people accuse such a favoured name of Transphobia suddenly?

The Simp Premise.

Now, popular opinion has it that a large part of Pokimane’s fanbase are “simps“. What are “simps”? Well, a “simp” is an urban slang used to criticize men who overvalue and flatter women. So, people often feel that a major part of Poki’s fanbase watches her streams simply because of her looks. Pokimane has, of course, tried to defend her fans in the past. But sometimes she too admits that a few of her fans are perhaps a little too overboard.

However, for the major part, Poki does take a stand for her fans when the community calls them “simps”. So, in a regular fashion, when her fanbase came under attack once more recently, she took to Instagram to respond. And it is here that trouble, for the first time, started brewing.

The Instagram Post & people’s reaction: Is Pokimane Transphobic?

Pokimane posted a story on her Instagram profile with the caption that defended “simps” for being simply decent men. She also said that calling her fans “simps” was discouraging people from being nice to women. You can have a look at the story below.

ah i knew pokimane was transphobic 🙂 it’s 2020, attack helicopter aint fucking funny. stop invalidating trans people. pic.twitter.com/raw0bcTf7O

— ⤿ ⌜ shepherd ⌟ (@grimtarot) September 29, 2020

So, when addressing the different genders in our society, she used the words “male, female, attack helicopter, others”. And it is this phrase “attack helicopter” that got her in trouble.

The community spotted it instantly and called Poki out for using such unnatural words to address trans people in 2020. They felt it was very insulting towards them. Keemstar, one of Poki’s particularly critical observers, even called her an “edgelord“.

Later on, Poki of course realised her mistake. She also admitted that though her general aim was noble, her attempt was pretty terrible and offensive. So, she apologized publicly and decided to donate to a fund for homeless trans women.

Also Read: Pokimane without makeup on: How? What? Why?