An Australian Fortnite streamer has been charged after allegedly assaulting his partner during a live broadcast on Twitch.
Officers from Camden Police were contacted after a witness reported the alleged assault, which took place on Sunday evening.
The 26-year-old man, known by his handle MrDeadMoth, can be heard on the livestream arguing with his partner, a 21-year-old woman, who repeatedly asked him to stop playing the game. Clips of the incident went viral on Twitter.
"Can you not? I said I'll be out soon," the man said, before leaving his seat. Then, what appears to be the sound of a slap can be heard off camera. The woman responded by calling him a "woman basher," and can be heard sobbing in the background.
"Don't hit me in the face," she said. "Do you hear that, all you people there? He just hit me in the face."
The argument continued for a few more minutes. None of the alleged assault was captured on camera, but a woman and a child can be heard screaming in the background after what appears to be a physical altercation.
"F*** off you dog, you don't pay the f***ing bills," he said.
Police arrested the man later that evening, and he has since been charged with common assault and served with an apprehended violence order (the equivalent of a restraining order). He has been granted conditional bail, and is expected to appear in court on Thursday.
"While the woman was not seriously injured she was distressed and shaken by the incident," New South Wales police said in a statement via email.
Police confirmed two girls, aged three and 20 months, were at home at the time of the incident. The man's Twitch and Twitter accounts appear to be now offline.
It's not the first time a gaming livestream has seen an alleged assault. In China last year, professional League of Legends player Li Wei Jun was fired from his team after being accused of assaulting his girlfriend during a livestream.
If you want to talk to someone or are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or TTY 1-800-787-3224. For international hotlines, this page has a list of worldwide resources.
