Amazon briefly banned itself on Twitch after rogue host exposed herself on air

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

In a weird internet mix-up, it looks like Amazon briefly suspended its Spanish-language Prime Video Twitch channel on Sunday after a host exposed herself on-air, according to a report from the BBC. The ban was lifted after less than 24 hours, according to Android Police, and the broadcast appears to have been deleted from the channel. But it’s a bit unusual for Amazon to essentially ban itself; the e-comm giant has owned Twitch since 2014.

The dustup occurred during the talk show “Esto es un Late,” towards the end of what the BBC described as an hours-long broadcast. “We’re about to be banned,” said host and comedian Henar Alvarez while lifting up her shirt during the livestream. “Come on. They’re going to ban us!”

As reported by the BBC, after she briefly exposed her nipple, the camera quickly cut away from Alvarez. The channel displayed a title card for a few seconds before putting the camera back on a fully clothed Alvarez and her colleagues. A few hours after the livestream ended, the channel was banned before being unbanned less than a day later.

When StreamerBans, a Twitter account that tracks the latest bans on Twitch, documented Twitch’s ruling on the Spanish Prime Video channel, Prime Video España quote tweeted it, saying, “And now how do I explain this to my bosses?” Alvarez later responded with another quote tweet. “Tell them I promise that from now on I will always wear a bra to host the show. I am very sorry, I was wrong and it will not happen again.”

Twitch has set guidelines regarding nudity and sexually suggestive content, and for those who present as women, exposing nipples is not allowed.

While it seems like Alvarez knew the rules before she lifted her shirt on camera, it’s not clear why she took action that would get the channel banned, even temporarily. It’s possible it was an attempt to garner views for the show or perhaps just something she did on a whim. But it does raise the question of how Amazon can potentially use bans to its own advantage — a high-profile account that gets suspended from a platform typically gets a lot of publicity, never mind Amazon getting banned from its own platform.

Senior director of communications at Twitch Hollie Conway declined to comment on the situation specifically but says, “Our terms of service and guidelines are applicable to all channel owners equally.”