Cosplay Streamer Assaulted In Viral Video Blasts TwitchCon Response

Emily “Emiru” Schunk says she’s pressing charges and won’t be returning to TwitchCon after being assaulted by an attendee in a security lapse that’s bringing renewed scrutiny to Twitch’s safety and security policies for its biggest event of the year. “Twitch security is nowhere near me,” she said in a statement after the incident went viral on social media. “I can see them, but they don’t do anything.”

Emiru, an online creator with over a million subscribers best known for her cosplay livestreams, was in the middle of a fan Meet and Greet at TwitchCon 2025 over the weekend when a man seemingly cut in line and grabbed her before leaning in toward her face. Footage shows her personal security running over to grab the individual and get him away from Emiru, at which point the man walks away from the Meet and Greet area.

So some freak just assaulted Emiru at @TwitchCon . This behavior is fucking disgusting. I’m amazed that she still came back to finish the Meet and Greet line, honestly she deserves the utmost of respect. THIS HAS TO STOP!!!@EmiruUpdatess @emiru pic.twitter.com/pyO2QHQ9Pv

— BaconCrumbz 🥓 @TwitchCon SD (@BaconCrumbz) October 18, 2025

She said her first thought when the assault occurred was that it may have been a Twitch staff member coming to tell her something about the event but once he grabbed her she knew something was wrong. “I’m still, like, freaked out because he grabbed me,” Emiru said in a video released after the event. “That’s not normal. And then he grabs my face and he leans in and lips puckered tries to kiss me and I start screaming. You can’t hear it in the clip, but I’m fucking screaming my head off.”

Emiru claims Twitch lied

But as bad as the initial incident was, Emiru said Twitch’s response to what happened is what’s made her angrier. “I’m obviously shaken up by what happened and it’s not the first time I’ve dealt with something like this, but to tell you honestly, I am a lot more hurt and upset by how Twitch handled it during and after the fact.” She claimed that Twitch’s first move was to ban the suspect from the platform for 30 days, and it was only after her manager pressed the Amazon-owned platform that it made it a lifetime ban from Twitch and TwitchCon.

“The safety and security of all those attending TwitchCon is our highest priority,” the company wrote in a statement over the weekend. “The behavior displayed by the individual involved in the incident yesterday involving a high profile streamer was completely unacceptable and deeply upsetting.” Emiru also took issue with Twitch’s framing of its response, claiming that no one from security immediately tracked down the suspect to escort him out of the convention.

“In line with existing TwitchCon security protocols, law enforcement and event security were on site and responded to the incident,” the company’s statement read. “We immediately blocked this individual from returning to the TwitchCon premises, and they are banned indefinitely from Twitch, both online and in-person events.” The statement, published on X, has since been community-noted by Emiru’s fans.

The TwitchCon fallout

The incident comes in the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination earlier this year that left some of Twitch and YouTube’s most famous content creators afraid that they could be targeted at public events by violent actors or unhinged fans. Korean TikToker and livestreamer Yoon Ji-ah was murdered earlier this year by a stalker who had allegedly donated roughly $70,000 to her under the user alias “‘Black Cat.”

This was my 12th TwitchCon and I’m not going to lie it might have been my last. I love seeing friends but it really just doesn’t feel the same. After seeing what happened this weekend I feel better about canceling my meet n greet and going home early

— Lulu (@LuluLuvely) October 19, 2025

“Do you know how much I spent on security to be able to come to this event in the first place?” Emiru said in her latest video. “I’m not just talking about yesterday. I’m talking about my security for like my RV trip that I did with my friends and stuff. I spent over $10,000. Some people who stream on Twitch don’t even make $10,000 in a year. What the fuck are they supposed to do? Like if you watch the clip, the security guard who pushes the guy away is my security. The woman who pulls me to the back, my manager. If you’re a small streamer and you don’t have those resources or someone in your line’s not filming, what the fuck do you do? No one would have known.”

The streamer said Twitch had multiple representatives from Amazon speak with her following the incident but it’s not exactly clear yet how Twitch will revamp security. Multiple high-profile female streamers had previously shared their fears about attending the event. “It does worry me that it might not be safe and it’d be better to skip out on it,” Imane “Pokimane” Anys told her viewers last month. The comment was in response to both Rachell “Valkyrae” Hofstetter and Blaire “QTCinderella” voicing their own concerns. So far at least, Twitch has only proven just how founded those fears were.