The Pokimane no makeup controversy refers to popular Twitch streamer Pokimane's 2018 barefaced stream, which resulted in backlash and counter-backlash defending her makeup-free look.
This incident is one of many similar situations in which famous women without makeup and perfect hair are accused of being con artists.
Pokimane, born Imane Anys, is a Moroccan-Canadian internet personality best known for doing video game streams on Twitch. Her gaming faves include League of Legends and Fortnite and currently enjoys the most followers of any woman on the platform. “Pokimane” is a portmanteau of her first name and Pokémon.
Anys was one of the first adopters of the video game streaming model, joining Twitch soon after it launched in 2013. Her gaming skills as well as this early adoption contributed to her rise on the platform, but due to humanity’s obsession with beauty, it’s safe to assume that her conventional physical attractiveness, bolstered by her proficiency with makeup, was also a factor.
Pokimane did her no makeup stream on October 23, 2018, with the explicit intention of promoting the truth that women don’t naturally look like they do with a full face of meticulously applied cosmetics.
“I know not having makeup on is unusual, and some people might meme me for it, or say whatever," she said. "I think it’s good to not always just be promoting ‘I look like this naturally.’ Because girls just don’t. When you have makeup on, you look like you have makeup on.”
Of course, she still looks amazing without any makeup, but some fans got mad anyway. The Twitch stream and YouTube reposts have since been taken down.
Just like with Ice Spice and other women, Pokimane was instantly hit with accusations of running some sort of scam in which she intentionally hid her "real" appearance to manipulate people into being her fans, watching her streams, or giving her money.
Some called her makeup game a "cheat code" and a "mask" as they unintentionally revealed that they were primarily or only watching her streams for her looks. Others simply insulted her appearance, claimed she looked like a man, and were generally nasty.
This one went far enough to spawn a mean trend in which social media users made a photo of Pokimane without makeup in their profile photos in an attempt to shame her and remind people that this is how she looks bare-faced.
Fans immediately responded to the Pokimane no makeup stream by defending her, anticipating the usual backlash, and once again pointing out that the patriarchy created and imposed the standards in the first place, and continues to enforce them today.
"People shocked about how Pokimane looks w/o makeup just outing that they probably haven’t had a girlfriend," wrote Mark Zimmerman. "Even worse outing that they’ve never had a female friend consider them close enough to hang out with no makeup on. Big yikes."
Fellow streamer Sloan wrote, "Hate to break it to you, but if you think you’re going to find a girl who looks flawless with and without makeup — you’re going to have a hard time."
Others were simply baffled by assertions that Pokimane looked bad without cosmetics.
Despite the "controversy," Pokimane continues to be one of the most popular gaming streamers on all of Twitch. She has also repeatedly stood up to trolls and reminded people that she's not bowing to shame when it comes to how she looks.
In 2022, she posted a screenshot from her no-makeup stream, taunting critics by bragging that "this face makes more money than you’ll ever see in your life."
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