What did Hasan actually say about streaming versus real jobs and why has it caused so much drama?

On Feb. 24, streamer Hasan Piker made some comments about the nature of streaming in comparison to real jobs that have since become quite controversial. Other creators have also gotten involved and the situation has continued to develop over time.

Here’s everything you need to know about what Hasan said in regards to streaming versus a real job and why it has stirred up so much drama.

Hasan streaming versus real jobs controversy, explained

The entire situation started on Feb. 24 when Hasan compared streaming to real jobs while live on Twitch. Since then, several creators and viewers have been sharing their responses.

What did Hasan say about streaming versus real jobs?

The summarized version of what Hasan said about streaming versus real jobs is that streaming takes a greater toll on his social battery than his past jobs ever did. This has been misconstrued by many to mean he was saying streaming is harder than actual jobs, but he never actually said this.

The specific sentence Hasan used that he claims has been taken out of context is as follows: “A real job can be gruesome, a real job can make you very tired, but a real job doesn’t suck the soul out of you, you know what I mean? In the same way that nine hours of streaming absolutely will.”

He received a lot of backlash from people who only saw this part of what he said, but the variety streamer talked a lot more about his exact intentions and feelings on the situation before and after it during his stream.

“A real job does not expend your social battery in the same fucking way as someone who did a sales job, a real job, I’m telling you, as someone who did both, like, nine hours of constant performance and people-pleasing taps your out from social scenarios,” Hasan said. “After nine hours of that, I could probably do fucking physical labor, it would not bother me, but I can’t fucking do more social shit.”

Hasan also used an example where he compared giving a presentation at a job to what he feels he has to do all day every day while streaming.

“You give presentations for your job right? Imagine giving a presentation for nine hours straight. It’s like, after a while, you’re gonna be like, I don’t wanna talk ever again,” he said.

The full clip is provided here so you get the complete scope and context of what he said.

What did Ludwig say about Hasan?

Following Hasan’s statement, Ludwig posted a video to his Mogul Mail channel on Feb. 26 called “do streamers have hard jobs?” talking about the situation. This video ended up being taken down not too long after, allegedly because it “wasn’t getting great views” which Ludwig said made the sponsor look bad so he wanted to remove and reupload it without them.

In the original video, Ludwig mostly just acknowledged his position as one of the top streamers and provided the full context for Hasan’s statement. After deleting the original one, Ludwig then reuploaded the video on Feb. 27 with the title “Huge Streaming Drama (REUPLOAD),” although the reuploaded version is not exactly the same as the original.

In the reuploaded version of the Mogul Mail video, Ludwig starts talking about Hasan and the streaming versus real job debate at around 2:25. He explains he was mostly using the Hasan situation as “clickbait” to get viewers interested in watching and that he had intended to keep the reupload the same but instead changed it up after seeing all of the backlash to his original video and that he was being “used” by “people who don’t like Hasan.”

Hasan also wasn’t happy with Ludwig using what he said to make a video and commented it was “just a way to farm off the fucking drama.”

On Feb. 26, Hasan also posted a public post on his Discord server about Ludwig’s response. He essentially said it “would’ve been nice” if Ludwig had stuck up for him more as he thinks Ludwig should’ve known he didn’t mean “streaming is the most difficult job in the world.”

Which creators have responded to Hasan’s statement?

Since his initial statement on Feb. 24, many other creators have also responded to Hasan’s sentiment.

• Pokimane: “Streaming is not the hardest job you can have. For sure, by far. I do not think streaming is the most difficult job, I just want to make that very clear.”

• MoistCr1tikal: “To me, his take really felt like ‘I stream so long and I don’t want to socialize anymore and it makes me feel worse than like a normal job,’ but not him saying that streaming is harder, just more so he doesn’t like feeling drained after it.”

• Asmongold: “This is totally understandable. And he’s not comparing it to every other job, he’s saying compared to other jobs where you’re not talking to people constantly…I think that like, so streaming, like as a job, is extremely socially draining.”

• XQc: “In the grand scheme of things, I would much rather sit here on my dumbass than fucking go out there and fucking deal with dumbass customers or clients.”

Why has Hasan’s statement caused so much drama?

Hasan’s statement has been the source of a lot of drama mostly because what he said has been taken out of context. The upset at his words is largely due to misunderstanding as many believed he said that streaming is harder than real jobs rather than what he actually said, which is that his own social battery is drained a lot more by streaming than it ever was with other jobs he did.

The variety streamer directly cleared up what he meant and acknowledged that he recognizes “how fortunate” he is “every day” when he shared a post clarifying his statement. His statement is still making rounds, but Hasan seems to have moved on and hasn’t mentioned it much since.