TwitchCon San Diego was supposed to be a source of joy for Kaitlyn “Amouranth” Siragusa, and for the most part, it was. But, her meet and greet on the event’s final day was marred by a close encounter with a stalker.
It’s unclear whether it was the same stalker who has been harassing her for a long time and even tried breaking into her home. Still, it was an encounter she wanted to avoid, and she was successful.
“I have 24-hour security. That’s why I said security had to get involved. Because the stalker showed up,” she said after relocating to private quarters in a hotel until the situation was dealt with. “Just because I have security, that doesn’t mean I want to have the stalker see me. So, that’s why I went up to the room.”
“And then I got that message and never came down,” she added.
Sadly, Amouranth isn’t the only streamer who has had near-misses with crazed stalkers this year.
YouTube star Rachell “Valkyrae” Hofstetter had a similar experience at the 100 Thieves compound. The mentally-ill stalker genuinely believed she wanted to meet him and was going to pick him up from the airport. He refused to leave for several days.
Twitch streamer Wolfabelle was forced to move out of her home after a stalker tracked her down and threatened to doxx her unless she complied with their crude sexual demands.
It’s a severe issue in the industry, especially for female streamers.
Studies have observed the nature of live streaming is correlated with an increased likelihood of parasocial relationships forming, which can lead to more stalkers – especially among fans with mental illness.
Amouranth was able to avoid an altercation this time, but it was still an unpleasant situation.
