A lot of noise about nothing?
In a Twitch stream, the mood can change very quickly. Most of the time it is broadcast live and for several hours – it’s almost a daily occurrence that one or the other gaming or YouTube star babbles on.
With Minecraft legend Gronkh (45), however, it didn’t take long for some users to become very angry. This topic was enough: “Harry Potter”. Doesn’t sound tricky at first – but it is.
In the past, the only way you could put your foot in the pot with Potterheads was to confuse a cuddle muff with a Pokemon. Today the world around the magic school Hogwarts is almost a political issue. Gronkh (Germany’s most successful gaming influencer, almost 5 million followers on YouTube, 1.5 million on Twitch) also commented on this in one of his most recent Twitch streams.
Erik Range aka Gronkh is one of the most successful streamers in Germany
In his stream about the controversy surrounding Potter creator JK Rowling, Gronkh simply said: “I just don’t care. I don’t care Am I a bad person if I don’t care about JK Rowling? Does she have to play a part in my life?”
Because of “Hogwarts Legacy”: hate comments against Gronkh
The reactions? Violent! Some viewers (especially from the LGBTQIA+ community) accuse Gronkh of wanting to abstain from a clear opinion and even accuse him of transphobia via Twitter.
“You have a goddamn responsibility and this ‘I don’t care?’ it’s just such a disgusting privileged sh *** statement from you! “, says a user on Twitter.
Some of the comments go below the belt and testify to what the streamer himself is accused of: hatred.
The non-binary editor-in-chief of “inFranken”, Io Kassandra Görz, also criticizes Gronkh. Range allegedly acts “anti-trans by openly saying he doesn’t care about JKR.”
The headwind for these voices followed at the same time.
Because many fans and colleagues protect Range. “Especially when it comes to Gronkh, you realize how many stupid people out there have internet access,” commented streaming king MontanaBlack on the Twitter storm.
Gronkh’s statement itself is unlikely to have sparked the heated debate, rather viewers accuse the streamer of wanting to play the game “Hogwarts Legacy” and possibly showing it on his channel. And presumably even making money with it.
Because the new game from the Potter universe is heating up, critics are even calling for a boycott of the title, which fans are actually eagerly awaiting.
“Hogwarts Legacy” actually makes fan dreams come true, but it has a big problem
Background: author JK Rowling (57) has in the past been critical of a law in Scotland that allows trans people there to change their gender without a medical certificate. Rowling also insists that there are only two biological sexes. An affront for trans activists, since then a shitstorm has been raging against the author and everything that has to do with Harry Potter.
Also actor of “Harry Potter” films distanced themselves from the once acclaimed writer.
In Rowling’s native Britain, things have even gone so far that schools and universities are starting to warn about the Potter books.
The new video game “Hogwarts Legacy” (coming on February 10th) reignites the discussions again.
It should be the biggest and technically most impressive game to date. For the first time, players can freely explore the entire Hogwarts Castle and use their avatar to train themselves as a wizard or witch.
JK Rowling created a worldwide success with the “Harry Potter” books, but the authors have been criticized for a few years
But the big discussion: Can you look forward to “Hogwarts Legacy” at all, let alone play it?
YouTuber Gronkh says: Yes! And has already made himself unpopular with some. He has not yet commented on the discussion or the allegations.
