Twitch streamer Asmongold announced he has left gaming and entertainment company One True King following his shift to more controversial political content.
During a Feb. 21 stream on his secondary Twitch channel “zackrawrr,” Asmongold confirmed he has separated himself from OTK. The streamer explained that his involvement with OTK restricted him from making content he wanted to do, made it difficult for the company to find sponsors, and left other members open to harassment. He added that the departure was best for his career path and health.
As of Feb. 22, OTK has not made an announcement about the departure, but Asmongold stated during the stream that the departure was mutual and that he is still friendly with people in the organization.
“Doing controversial political content is really hard to synthesize with content that’s not like that because of just how extreme it is,” Asmongold said. “I can tank harassment … and it’s not a problem, but I don’t want to sign other people up for that.”
The streamer continued to say that getting involved in the organization, which Asmongold co-founded in 2020, was the biggest mistake he’s made in his entire life because it was “corrosive” to his mental and physical health. He mentioned his involvement was so stressful that he had to go to the emergency room at one point because of high blood pressure.
“[OTK] basically overcommitted me to a lot of social events and social activities that I’m not comfortable doing, and I didn’t really understand that it was that bad for me until I was in it,” he said.
Prior to leaving, Asmongold’s shift to political content had already affected his relationship with OTK. In October, the streamer stepped away from his leadership roles within the company and their subsidiary Starforge Systems, a gaming PC company, after calling Palestinians “terrible people” with an “inferior culture.” The creator made multiple apologies for the comments following massive backlash from fans and a 14-day ban off Twitch, stating he needed to step away and focus on himself.
Following the comments, OTK member Nmplol called out Asmongold’s fans for harassing other members in the organization. Other members faced backlash months later for collaborating with the controversial streamer.
Cinna, an OTK member, said in a stream on Feb. 12 that Asmongold’s actions were hurting the company and that people tied to him should disconnect from him.
More recently, Asmongold was involved in another controversy after making comments regarding the Nazi book burnings on Feb. 16. The comments were met with harsh criticism from viewers and streamers, which Asmongold claimed were “trying to paint him as a Nazi.”
Since leaving, Asmongold said he’s very happy and glad to be in a better place in his career and life. “Everything is good. I totally support them. I might be at events every once in a while, but it’ll be as a friend. Or with some of them, maybe just a coworker,” he said.
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