Jinny comes under fire on Twitch for “ableist” joke about Spider-Man cosplayer

Twitch star Jinny has come under fire from the streaming community after making an “ableist” joke about a young Spider-Man cosplayer in a wheelchair while at the Los Angeles Comic-Con for an IRL stream.

Popular IRL streamer Jinny has come under heavy fire from Twitch fans after making a comment about a child in a wheelchair dressed as superhero Spider-Man.

The 29-year-old was broadcasting her adventures at the Los Angeles Comic-Con over the weekend ⁠when she walked past a parent, dressed as Dr Strange, and their child, who was in a wheelchair. Jinny exclaimed in excitement at the costumes, catching the attention of the child’s caretaker.

“Oh wow, this is really cool. Like a… Stephen Hawking Spider-Man,” she then proclaimed, within earshot of the pair, before repeating herself again as she walked away. “Yeah, they’re like a Stephen Hawking Spider-Man.”

The now-deleted clip quickly went viral online, with most Twitch fans demanding Jinny apologize for her comments, and dubbing her “ableist” for the joke.

As soon as Jinny made her comment, her Twitch chat was flooded with responses begging her to apologize, and telling her the Spider-Man cosplayer was a child.

“That kid is actually disabled,” one wrote, while another told Jinny she was “rude” and “ableist” for making the joke in the first place. The backlash continued on Reddit and Twitter too, where one commenter suggested it was a “very strange thing to joke” whether the streamer knew it was a prop or not.

Jinny didn’t originally respond to the outpouring in her chat, continuing around the convention, but hastily apologized when she saw the torrent of comments telling her that she had made a mistake.

“Is that an actual person? That was an actual person? That’s my bad, I thought someone made it. I didn’t know,” she said. “My bad. I actually didn’t know.”

The IRL streamer spoke loud enough for the Spider-Man cosplayer to hear her.

The streamer’s December VOD in question has since been deleted, though her other Comic-Con streams still remain available.

This isn’t the first time the popular Korean star has come under fire for on-stream comments in recent months either. In September, the 29-year-old found herself on the wrong side of internet scrutiny after she filmed a UK security officer then lied about it, allegedly breaking several laws in the process.

Beyond her original apology during the Comic-Con stream on Twitch, Jinny has yet to address the “Stephen Hawking” joke or the ensuing backlash online.