xQc questions backlash against Atrioc as Pokimane’s deepfake controversy resurfaces before TwitchCon 2026

Twitch and Kick streamer Felix “xQc” has shared his thoughts on the recent controversy involving Imane “Pokimane” and Brandon “Atrioc.” He urged Atrioc to move forward with his life, saying that close friends can look past his mistake. xQc also appeared to question Pokimane’s decision to speak about the issue again years after it first came to light. His comments came after Pokimane explained how Atrioc’s past actions still affect her and Atrioc announced that he would step away from his planned TwitchCon 2026 panel.xQc tells Brandon “Atrioc” to move forward after Imane “Pokimane” shares her concernsDuring a livestream on October 27, 2026, xQc spoke about Atrioc’s decision to leave his planned TwitchCon 2026 panel. He told the streamer not to let his past actions decide what he does for the rest of his life.“Atrioc, listen, buddy, stop doing that. Buddy, like, stop doing that. Like, there's life left to be lived. Okay? Can't make and define anything you're going to do in the future, okay, based on the one thing you did because other people are hanging above your head. At one point, you need to take control of your life and be like, 'Okay, this is not about my head, and I'm going to act like it's not and move forward in my ******** life because this is ******* worthless.' Otherwise, you're going to be ******* miserable. And you know what? I believe that. Chat, because if he got invited to the wedding, right? It means that he does have close friends because close friends can see past his mistake. Right? So, that's good.”The comments followed Pokimane’s October 26 post on X, where she explained why she felt uncomfortable after seeing Atrioc become involved in events with people close to her.In her post, Pokimane said she had felt “uncomfortable” and “publicly humiliated” when Atrioc was caught viewing paywalled deepfake images of female streamers in 2023. She also said that other people choosing to forgive him did not mean she could not share how the incident had affected her.Atrioc responded by saying her feelings were valid. He also announced that he had withdrawn from his TwitchCon panel because he did not want to make anyone uncomfortable.Felix “xQc” appears to question Imane “Pokimane” speaking out against Brandon “Atrioc”During the same livestream, xQc also spoke about people who keep to themselves after making a mistake. Although he did not name either streamer directly in this part of his comments, his remarks appeared to refer to the ongoing situation.“Chat, I'm not even defending this guy, chat, but I'm going to say something - when somebody's in their own lane, and they live in their own ecosystem, right? They don't get mad about not being invited or whatever, and they do their ****. Right? If you come after them, you're always wrong, and I don't give a ****. That's not really what they did that much if they're only in their own little corner, right? And they're on their ****, they're not showing any hints or doing anything, like, that goes outwards that does anything bad. Like, if you go after them, you're just wrong.”His comments came as the two streamers continued to share their views on the controversy. Pokimane has explained why the incident still affects her, while Atrioc has acknowledged her feelings and stepped away from his planned panel appearance.As of October 29, 2026, Pokimane has not publicly responded to xQc’s latest comments.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.