During a recent livestream, Twitch streamer Zack “Asmongold” opened up about his protective role regarding former members of the One True King (OTK) organization. He discussed how he willingly absorbed the backlash from various online controversies to shield his fellow streamers, including Nick “Nmplol” , Emily “Emiru” , and Matthew “Mizkif” , from facing criticism.
Tackling the Controversies Head-On
In 2022, Mizkif encountered significant scrutiny for his plans to travel to Saudi Arabia, a country criticized for its efforts in ‘sportswashing’—using sports and esports to distract from larger societal issues. According to Zack, he chose to support Saudi Arabia publicly during this period as a strategy to redirect the negativity aimed at Mizkif. He articulated his thought process in the following way:
“I did that so everybody would get mad and hate me and not him (Miz)..and Emi (Emiru) too. And so..like yeah, I know it won’t bother me. I won’t affect me, I dont give a f**k…none of my audience cares. The only people who care about it are losers. So really…it’s better for me.”
Taking the Heat for Others
In addition to discussing Mizkif, Zack addressed the resignation of OTK co-founder Rich Campbell amid allegations of sexual assault. Despite the challenging nature of the content creation landscape, Zack emphasized the importance of taking ownership of controversies to protect others within the organization. He shared his insights on the pressures faced by streamers:
“People are not meant to deal with like the amount of pressure and stress that like streaming…and like the level of criticism that you get. They’re just not..they’re not able to deal with that. So like…that why, that’s why anytime there’s any drama or anything like, I usually try to take ownership of it so I can get away from it..err, uh, get it away from other people.”
Despite being a co-founder of OTK, Zack has since distanced himself from the organization. Former colleague John “Tectone” recently speculated that the fallout from Zack’s departure may have left OTK in jeopardy.
Why Asmongold Left OTK
On February 21, 2025, during a livestream, Asmongold addressed questions surrounding his exit from OTK. He highlighted the difficulty of aligning his controversial political content with the brand’s identity, stating:
“I am doing controversial political content, which is really hard to synthesize with content that is not like that. Because of how extreme it is and how polarizing it is. So, it is harder to find sponsors, it is harder to do things for that reason. So that’s one big reason.”
Zack further emphasized his desire not to place others at risk by engaging in contentious content. He indicated that his departure from OTK was a mutual decision aimed at safeguarding the interests of all parties involved:
“I also don’t want to put anybody else at risk by doing that. So that’s why I separated myself and I didn’t want to have anything to do with that. This is a mutual thing, right? And, even if it wasn’t, I still would agree with them.”
In related news, Asmongold recently disclosed his monthly earnings on Twitch, claiming he could potentially earn six figures if he pursued a more aggressive monetization strategy.