A former Kick employee claims other staff members regularly used racial slurs in the office during her time with the company.
Kick has earned a reputation as a controversy magnet by gladly hosting streamers that are too risky for Twitch. Earlier in 2024, Turkey banned Kick for its ties to betting sites, and the platform removed gambling exclusively for the country to maintain site presence. Still, gambling and streamers often get Twitch’s biggest rival in hot water. Well-known toxic streamers like Adin Ross, who has a long history of encouraging bigotry among his community and close ties to Andrew Tate, call Kick their home.
Recently, a former member of the Kick staff claimed these controversial behaviors are baked so deep into the company’s culture that slurs are commonly heard among staff.
Melissa, a former employee at Kick, claims the use of slurs is common among Kick staff.
She resigned from Kick in May 2024 and specifically cited treatment from co-workers as one of the reasons for her leaving. Allegedly, Kick staff claims they fired her, and in response, Melissa shared emails showcasing her resignation email and Kick’s response.
In June 2024, Melissa made a video explaining her decision to leave Kick more in-depth. One clip making the rounds on social media is Melissa’s statements alleging Kick staff regularly dropped the “hard R,” painting a not-too-clean picture of what goes on behind Kick’s closed doors.
The rest of the video details other alleged problematic behavior, like misgendering transgender streamers, mistreatment from coworkers, and implying Melissa’s parental duties were a “burden on the team.” As of now, Kick has not made an official response to Melissa’s claims.
If these claims are true, it would explain why Kick’s platform has little in the way of moderation. Adin Ross, one of the platform’s top streamers, moved to Kick after Twitch banned him for showcasing his Kick chat full of slurs and other hateful language. Although Kick’s terms of service do not allow hate speech, many such instances go unpunished for the platform.
Given the core audience it has built and the streamers it has pushed, Kick may not perceive these as problems. Regardless, Melissa’s video will likely spark more discussion around the ethics of the controversial streaming service.
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