The Fall of Craig “Mini Ladd” Thompson: From YouTube Stardom to Permanent Twitch Ban
Once a prominent figure in the YouTube gaming community, Craig “Mini Ladd” Thompson fell from grace after being accused of sexual misconduct by two women. Last June, Halley and Ash came forward, alleging that Thompson had manipulated them while they were underage and he was in his 20s.
In the wake of these accusations, Twitch has taken decisive action. Thompson has been indefinitely suspended and permanently banned from the platform, following his admission of guilt in an apology video uploaded in December.
A Twitch spokesperson confirmed that “appropriate action” is taken when there is evidence of a streamer violating community guidelines or terms of service.
Accusations Pile Up: Allegations from Ex-Girlfriend and Inappropriate Behavior at a Summer Camp
Samantha “SuniDey” Dey, Thompson’s ex-girlfriend, also spoke out against him, describing their relationship as “extremely toxic and manipulative.”
Thompson released an apology on June 25, acknowledging his inappropriate behavior and promising to seek help. He took a break and returned to uploading content on Aug. 12, using the hiatus to focus on his mental health.
However, Thompson remained silent regarding allegations of sexual assault and other inappropriate behavior related to Camp17, a summer camp he attended in August 2017 with other content creators. It wasn’t until Sept. 4 that he addressed these allegations in a video. Following this “clearing the air” video, Thompson continued to evade the topic, prompting negative responses from his audience. He eventually stopped uploading content on Dec. 7.
A Full Apology and Troubling Excuses
Thompson made a full apology video on Dec. 28, in which he confessed to sending flirtatious and predatory messages to Halley and Ash. He justified his actions by claiming that he was in a bad mental state at the time.
But Thompson’s pattern of using depression and suicidality as excuses for his behavior extended beyond these instances. In fact, he openly admitted to leveraging his mental health struggles to protect his YouTube career, which had been his livelihood for nearly eight years.
A Final Fall from Grace
Since the initial sexual misconduct allegations emerged, Thompson has lost over 500,000 subscribers, drastically reduced his upload frequency, and ultimately received a permanent ban on Twitch.