Twitch streamer Sweet Anita has come under fire for uttering a racial slur on stream – despite the fact she suffers from Tourette’s syndrome. The controversy comes after Anita uttered the phrase “kill the Jews” during a livestream, which has caused an uproar across social media.
For those who don’t know, Tourette’s syndrome is a condition that causes involuntary tics, which can be either physical, verbal or both. It’s a common stereotype that people with Tourette’s syndrome often swear a lot, but according to the National Health Service, muscle twitching, whistling and blinking are considerably more common.
However, there’s still about “about 1 in 10 people” with Tourette’s who do find themselves unable to control their language, which can lead to some situations that can be difficult for others to understand if they’re unfamiliar with the syndrome.
This is exactly what happened with Sweet Anita, who faced an immediate online backlash for her use of the anti-semitic phrase as well as the N-word, despite her claims that it’s down to her tic and not her viewpoint or beliefs.
Sweet Anita is incredibly upfront about her Tourette’s syndrome, with her Twitch channel rated as for “mature audiences” and with a clear disclaimer in her bio.
Anita’s bio reads: “Hi I’m Anita. I’m from the UK, and I have Tourette’s syndrome. This is why I am making strange sounds, whistling, popping, and swearing. My stream is for a mature audience only as I say some pretty inappropriate things about cats and Jesus. I’m a carer for my mum, I rescue wild and domestic animals in my free time. I especially love rearing baby birds and taking in abandoned bunnies. When I’m not making youtube videos, sniffing bees, or spanking strangers, I’ll be here trying to make people smile.”
In a now-deleted tweet, Twitch partner Lil Chipmunk sounded off against the streamer, asking Twitch how Anita has been “allowed to promote hatred” on her channel.
Lil Chipmunk and Anita have since reconciled, with Lil Chipmunk apologising for her outburst.
Anita, who has over half a million subscribers on Twitch and over 300,000 on YouTube, has since issued a statement to those who’ve defended her against allegations of racism.
She said on Twitter: “HUGE thanks everyone who has been patiently explaining tourette’s syndrome to folks who have been confused or outraged by my n word controversy on twitter/reddit. The more people who understand the safer life becomes with people with tourette’s.”
She went on to say: “I read the comments section. There were a lot of people who were really angry or thought I should be banned, a lot of people think the N-word is in your vocabulary so you must be racist…
“The N-word is on everyone’s vocabulary. We all know what it is and that it’s a word, and so does my Tourette’s. That doesn’t mean it’s something I believe or feel about anyone.”
Twitch’s moderation team has decided that Sweet Anita’s remarks do not violate the site’s community guidelines.
Featured Image Credit: Twitch