Popular 'PogChamp' Emote Will Be Removed From Twitch

Twitch has announced that it will remove the popular "PogChamp" emote from its service following a tweet made by Ryan 'Gootecks' Gutierrez, whom the emote is based on, which "encouraged further violence" following today's insurgency on Capitol Hill. Today, during the legislative confirmation of the electoral votes for Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 Presidential Election, President Trump's supporters rushed, and briefly occupied the Capitol building, forcing Senators and House legislatures to barricade themselves or leave the premises for safety. During these events, Gutierrez tweeted a statement about the events on Capitol Hill that appeared to call for further violence during the takeover. [caption id="attachment_2458841" align="alignnone" width="1280"] The 'PogChamp' Emote[/caption] 'Will there be civil unrest for the woman who was executed inside the Capitol today or will the #MAGAMartyr die in vain?" Gutierrez tweeted. In a statement to IGN from a Twitch spokesperson, the company announced, "We've made the decision to remove the PogChamp emote following statements from the face of the emote encouraging further violence after what took place in the Capitol today." The company added, "We want the sentiment and use of Pog to live on — its meaning is much bigger than the person depicted or image itself — and it has a big place in Twitch culture. However, we can't in good conscience continue to enable use of the image. We will work with the community to design a new emote for the most hype moments on Twitch."

We've made the decision to remove the PogChamp emote following statements from the face of the emote encouraging further violence after what took place in the Capitol today.

— Twitch (@Twitch) January 7, 2021

Gutierrez is a Street Fighter player whose surprised face reaction became the basis of the 'PogChamp' Twitch emote. It is a popular emote often used by commenters when surprising moments happen on stream, particularly in fighting games. Responses to Gutierrez's tweet from commenters condemned his statement as insensitive and commenters wondered if Twitch would take down the 'PogChamp' emote in light of the tweet and Twitch has agreed to do so. Popular streamers already moved before Twitch to ban the emote from their own private stream channels. Twitch says it will work with the community to create a new emote, but has not revealed what that process will entail. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.