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Popular Super Smash Bros. Streamer ZeRo Has Been Banned From Twitch

Twitch has joined Facebook Gaming and Tempo Storm in severing ties with the former Smash pro after allegations of sexual misconduct.

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In the wake of a mass outing of predatory behavior in the Smash Bros. community, former Smash Bros. pro and streamer Gonzalo "ZeRo" Barrios has been banned from Twitch for a currently unknown period. This ban follows his dismissal from both Facebook Gaming and Tempo Storm after he admitted to sending sexually explicit messages to minors, despite having discovered the age of one of the women he was speaking to. Further allegations of him behaving inappropriately with the women around him in the Smash Community have also come to light since.

Despite only being suspended recently, ZeRo had not streamed in 2020 at all. He is also no longer a Twitch partner according to current Twitch partner CommanderRoot, so this could dissuade him from returning if he is un-banned.

Twitch bans are often somewhat volatile, with offenders like Guy Beahm (aka Dr Disrespect) being allowed to return despite breaking the community guidelines by streaming from a bathroom at E3, an act that was also potentially unlawful. Even US President Donald Trump has faced a temporary ban from streaming on Twitch. It seems that these days may be coming to an end though, as we’ve seen Twitch begin to ban some of the more infamous channels on its platform, including Dr Disrespect once again, this time with no explicit timeframe. Dr Disrespect has not yet signed an exclusivity deal with a competitor. However, he did say he will not be returning to Twitch, presumably if he were ever un-banned.

So far, it appears that ZeRo is receiving the same treatment, with his ban duration still currently sitting as a question mark. After additional allegations came to light, the streamer deleted his tweets and has left social media, which means we may not be getting insights from him any time soon.

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