When Pokimane faced sexual harassment in a parking lot: 'Show me what’s under that skirt'
This article contains distressing content that could be traumatic to some readers. Discretion is advised.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: As one of the most popular streamers in the world, Pokimane is used to being recognized and approached in public, usually by her fans who just want a picture or maybe to have a short conversation. However, she openly discussed an incident of facing sexual harassment on her Instagram stories in February 2022.
She admitted that she had experienced "eve-teasing" on her way to a friend's house. She was shaken up by this experience and had to flee from the two perpetrators as they kept screaming at her. Pokimane warned her viewers to "not be that guy" after a couple of strangers harassed and yelled at her when she was by herself in a parking lot, making her fear for her safety.
What really happened to Pokimane?
In a series of Instagram stories, she shared her whole experience. She wrote, "i was walking back to my friends (but was alone) in a parking lot when 2 guys started hollering at me. at first, one of them sang ‘happy valentine’s day to youuu,’ I was like "uhh you too".” However, things took a toxic turn when one of them started to sing “You could be the milk to my cereal with that skirt.” Finally, one of the men reportedly yelled, “I wanna see what’s under that skirt… show me what’s under that skirt…”, and the streamer had heard enough, turning into a “track star” and running. Confirming that she was fine, Pokimane wrote, “anyways please don’t be that guy. It pissed me off that he thought it was okay/funny to yell those things to me. Likely because I was alone. His friend didn’t say s**t either.”
'Please be kind & stay safe'
In her final and fourth story, the streamer expressed gratitude to those who shared their kind and supportive messages. She also thanked followers and friends for their kind messages, writing, "thx for kind messages but don't worry about me, i'm fine :) just wanted to share cause 1) cringe lol and 2) spread some awareness that this sh* happens a lot, please be kind & stay safe & look out for your friends!”
Pokimane has, unfortunately, also been a target of online harassment. During one such major incident, her face was digitally altered into sexual images of other women. Following the publication of the images on a pornographic website, the deep fakes caused a great deal of trauma to the streamer. The incident shed light on the amount of online harassment that female streamers frequently experience.