Despite his success, Destiny’s life as a Twitch partner has not always been sunshine and rainbows. Not only has his hostility toward some people, especially those he disagrees with, made him a divisive figure among certain communities, but some of his careless actions have cost him part of his revenue due to bans.
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Who is Destiny?
Destiny (real name Steven Bonnell) has been livestreaming for over a decade. Considered to be a “pioneer” by being one of the first content creators to make streaming a full-time job, he spent a good portion of his career streaming video games such as Starcraft and League of Legends.
While he continues to stream similar games to this day, Destiny’s rise of fame outside of Twitch circles happened in 2016 when he streamed a political debate with JonTron that proved to be controversial. Since then, Destiny’s schtick has evolved to include political commentary, including debates with other personalities. Despite his roots as a gaming streamer and the fact that he usually plays games while talking about politics, it is hard to not think of him as one of the biggest political streamers in the landscape.
Destiny’s Bans
Although he’s been streaming for a long time, Destiny has only been going through the process of being banned and unbanned from Twitch for the past three years. He has been banned at least six times, with his first ban occurring in 2018. While it was technically a suspension, Destiny was still punished by Twitch for using homophobic slurs.
When Twitch banned the streamer for the first time, it was not the result of mass reports or any sort of controversy, but a small mistake that violates the platform’s terms and services. Destiny was first banned because he showed an explicit image of Alebrelle, another streamer. Although Destiny was frustrated at Twitch for its decision, the ban was short-lived and he got over it.
Destiny’s third ban happened less than two months later, on January 10, 2020. The reason was similar to the one that justified his first ban, but it feels pettier. He was banned for accidentally showing a sexually explicit thumbnail on his stream for a split second. He was banned again in May of 2020 for a similar reason. Both bans lasted a day.
By April 30, 2021, he was banned again for something out of his control. During a streamed discussion, he was talking about Hunter Biden’s alleged sex tape with an influencer that claimed to have access to the tape. At one point during the stream, the influencer briefly shows a frame from the tape, making Destiny violate Twitch’s Community Guidelines for explicit content yet again.
In October 2021, Destiny was banned yet again, this time for understandable reasons in an era concerned about personal information. He read an email address on stream during the infamous Twitch leak, which included a list of corporate email addresses.
Although Twitch ended its partnership with him over allegations of “promoting political violence” on the platform and has already banned him four times, the controversial streamer is still going strong. However, it may just be a case of luck on his part. Destiny is one of the earliest examples of profitable livestreaming, and keeping him is likely beneficial for Twitch. That, alongside the offenses essentially being the same and minor in retrospect, helped him stay on the platform.
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