An insider shared why Twitch streamer Kai Cenat was banned on April 18, and if true, it’s an understandable reason. The 21-year-old Kai Cenat, who has experienced incredible growth on Twitch over the past year and became the most subscribed content creator on the platform, was recently named Streamer of the Year at the 2023 Streamer Awards .
To commemorate his new status, Cenat even received a pair of purple Nikes from Twitch, and while the gift seemed to disappoint the streamer, the words “King of Twitch” were engraved on the shoes. However, the Bronx native’s status as a high-earner didn’t save him from the hammer of the ban, and Kai Cenat found himself unexpectedly and temporarily quit the platform on April 18.
Often, banned content creators aren’t sure why they were expelled from the platform, or, if they know, they don’t always share all the details with their audience. However, Dexerto learned that Kai Cenat was banned from Twitch for “repeating explicit simulations in GTA.” The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, also wanted to make it clear that the punishment was only temporary.
In addition to hosting regular Just Chatting streams, Kai Cenat also regularly plays games on his channel, and it would be a direct violation of Twitch’s terms of service if he simulated a sexual act in Grand Theft Auto. Whatever the reason for his suspension, the event reignited rumors that Cenat may soon be switching to Twitch rival Kick. In response to the streamer’s Twitter thread announcing his ban, Kick co-owner Trainwreck simply responded with a photo of him holding out his hand.
The purple platform has been accused of giving special treatment to its top content creators for years, but Twitch has banned many prominent streamers, including JiDion, Adin Ross and Mizkif. Some of these are temporary, others are semi-permanent, causing content creators to move to another platform. Sometimes, as was the case with Indiefoxx in early April, Twitch allows them to come back unexpectedly, surprising even the streamers themselves.
Of course, this isn’t the first time Twitch has banned Kai Cenat. His third ban, which took place in March 2022, was his longest, lasting a month. All the other bans were only one or three days long, and it’s likely that the most recent ban was short as well. However, it does show that even the most popular content creators on the platform cannot be complacent, even though there are now other viable streaming options such as Kick and YouTube.