The Streamer Awards, a livestreaming-focused awards show held its first show on March 12th. The event, which was founded and organized by cooking streamer QTCinderella, drew 380,000 simultaneous viewers, with big-name broadcasters like Hasanabi and Pokimane making appearances to accept their golden trophies. However, many people were dissatisfied with the event for one reason: the trophy is being mistaken for Pepe the Frog.
It’s not surprising that the raised brows are noticeable. Pepe has a tangled history. He began as an apolitical character created by American cartoonist Matt Furie in 2005 before being appropriated by the alt-right. Extremist groups have since exploited it to spread hateful rhetoric. Pepe was added to the Anti-Defamation League’s database as a hate symbol in 2016, but that hasn’t stopped racists from using the image all over the internet, from 4chan to Reddit. Despite this, Pepe has remained a popular character on the internet and as a major emote on platforms such as Twitch.
Some have argued that the statue is actually Peepo, a kinder version of the memeified frog that occasionally appears in Twitch chats. The problem is that the average person has no idea who that person is—most people are only familiar with Pepe, the more popular meme, which may explain why some people were confused about the trophy’s potential negative connotations on social media. The trophy’s monochrome design also has less detail, making it easier to mix up the two if it isn’t Pepe.
Pepe has a tumultuous history with Amazon’s live streaming platform. The image has become one of Twitch’s most popular unofficial emotes, and it is frequently used to make incendiary comments, but it is also used more innocently to express excitement or sadness. However, because of its use as a hate symbol, some streamers believe that banning Pepe entirely is necessary. Others have simply begun to use Peepo in its place.
The Streamer Awards, as well as the trophy itself, have drawn criticism because of this history. Several people simply asked, “Why?” when QTCinderella tweeted the award’s behind-the-scenes creation. “, as if in response to Pepe’s status as a well-known hate symbol.
Sure, the small trophy—a gold-covered 3D printed model of a frog dressed in a suit and tie—is cute, and it is. I’m guessing it’s Peepo! If it isn’t, Pepe’s shady past tarnishes whatever cuteness the trophy may have. It’s difficult to ignore an image that has been used to demonize a variety of marginalized groups, including the queer community and Jews.
As you might expect, many people discussing the trophy are perplexed by the design choice. To say the least, it’s perplexing why The Streamer Awards and QTCinderella would try to reclaim such a tarnished reputation. In one tweet, a streamer named KamiAnya summed up the debate perfectly.