Twitch streamer Tia “LauraLania” Zimmer has said that she’s considering quitting the site after she spurred an online panic, with reports suggesting that she had gone “missing” following an E3 2017 Twitch party.
LauraLania, who has over 10,000 followers on Twitch, was first reported missing by Twitter user @ashleeeeean, who claimed that the streamer “went missing after the Twitch Mixer” in Los Angeles following E3. The tweet was posted nearly 20 hours after LauraLania was seen at the party, with many claiming that they hadn’t seen her since. A rumor began to circulate that she had last been spotted “highly intoxicated” and getting into a Lyft cab, which sparked further concern.
Prominent Twitch and gaming industry personalities began conducting a search party for LauraLania as a result of the tweet. IGN also encouraged those who knew of her whereabouts to “contact the authorities” as the search for her continued.
https://twitter.com/IGN/status/875531720807690241
After several hours, LauraLania confirmed that she was safe and had spent the night playing poker at a casino, saying that she “just wanted a day unplugged.”
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She also posted a video from someone else’s phone, saying that she “just wanted to have a day alone playing poker.” “I never thought in a million years this kind of thing would have happened,” she added, apologizing to her followers for the concern.
https://twitter.com/TheLauralania/status/875593515610144774
Despite her having confirmed her safety, many Twitter users and her peers on Twitch criticized her for not informing those around her that she was leaving the Twitch party. Others called her “ungrateful” for leaving the Twitch party and instead going to the casino.
LauraLania later expressed how she was “probably done streaming” following the incident, adding: “I hate myself.” Responding to criticism regarding her leaving events she was working on early, she said: “It was optional from my understanding.”
LauraLania has yet to stream since the incident, and it’s uncertain whether or not she really is intending to give up her career on Twitch. It’s unfortunate that a widespread panic regarding her well-being has now resulted in her being criticized to the point where she wants to give up Twitch, and many other users have bemoaned the reaction to the events that have transpired. One user wrote: “Lauralania is ok and that is all that matters. Any other details should be between her and her friends/ loved ones. Not our business.”
This post previously stated that LauraLania was criticized for leaving the Twitch party early. This was a mistake, and we have now amended the article.
