Gaming

Man Who Allegedly Hit His Wife On Live Stream Is Back On Twitch

by Amanda Yeo  3 January 2019
MrDeadMoth playing Fortnite

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It turns out Ninja flossing was in no way the worst thing Twitch streamed on New Year’s Eve. Less than a month after he allegedly beat his wife on livestream, 26-year-old Australian Twitch streamer Luke “MrDeadMoth” Munday has been unbanned by Twitch. And in the dying embers of 2018, he jumped back online to play some Fortnite and request “Positive Vibes”.

Munday announced his return to Twitch via Twitter in the early hours of December 31, saying, “let’s be positive”. This and subsequent tweets were largely met with revulsion by other Twitter users, many asking how his wife was. Munday didn’t respond, but Dexerto reports that viewers of his return stream who referred to the alleged domestic violence incident were banned or timed out from the chat.

In widespread video recorded from Munday’s Twitch stream on December 9, Munday’s 21-year-old partner can be heard asking him to stop playing Fortnite. Telling her he’ll “be out soon”, he moves off camera, after which there is a sharp noise that sounds like a slap. Munday’s partner can then be heard crying and saying, “you fuckin’ woman basher” and “don’t hit me in the face”.

Munday returns to the view of the camera and leaves several times in the clip, each exit followed by loud sounds of the woman and children crying and screaming. Police have since confirmed that two girls aged three and 20 months were in the house at the time of the incident.

Camden Police arrested Munday later that night after someone who viewed the live stream contacted them. He was charged with assault, and an apprehended violence order was also served. Munday appeared in Camden Local Court on December 13, where his case was adjourned until January 10 to enable him to obtain legal advice.

When asked for comment regarding Munday’s return to Twitch and their approach to unbanning, a Twitch representative told Junkee that it’s their policy not to speak externally about any moderation on the platform.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time incidents of alleged domestic violence have been caught on live video game streams. In 2016, Twitch streamer JoeDaddy505 was recorded allegedly beating his girlfriend. His Twitch profile is still disabled.

Update 11:45AM January 6: A Twitch spokesperson has released this statement to Junkee:

“Protecting the integrity of our community is incredibly important to us. We want everyone on Twitch to have a safe and positive experience and work constantly toward that goal. Part of that work includes examining our policies and practices when we find they don’t properly address specific incidents to ensure we’re adapting as the Twitch community grows.”

If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.

Men can access anonymous confidential telephone counselling to stop using violent and controlling behaviour through the men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491.