The Brazilian branch of gaming peripheral maker Razer announced yesterday on Twitter that it won’t be renewing its contract with influencer Gabriela Cattuzzo. The decision appears to be related to a Twitter thread from June 21 in which Cattuzzo said “men are trash” in response to her having been sexually harassed.
Razer Brazil framed the issue as being about “gamers” rather than gender issues. “As gamers, we face every type of preconception and stereotype from the outset, and we will continue fighting so that this type of situation doesn’t repeat itself,” the company said in its statement, as translated by Kotaku. “Razer Brasil reinforces that the opinions of its influencers do not necessarily represent or reflect the opinion of the business, which totally opposes any type of discrimination—whether it be due to sex, religion, political party—or any type of intolerance or extremism.”
Cattuzzo’s now-deleted Twitter thread from June 21 began with her posting a picture of herself atop a mechanical bull with the caption “I am riding the chat.” Another Twitter user responded by saying “you can ride me if you want,” which sparked a response from Cattuzzo.
“There’s always going to be fucked in the head macho man to talk shit and sexualize women until the woman starts making jokes, right?” she wrote. “And this is why men are trash.” In a subsequent tweet, she added that men who don’t act that way are exceptions.
At the time, the tweet went viral, with some respondents arguing that it was actually Cattuzzo who was being toxic. In response, Cattuzzo apologized while also putting the focus back onto the larger point she had been making. “I reacted in a rude way to the guy who made a tasteless joke, and I ended up offending a lot of people in the process, and I apologize for this,” she wrote over the weekend. “I do not apologize for having defended myself. I will always defend myself.”
Despite Cattuzzo’s apology, Razer Brazil nonetheless distanced itself from her on Monday and announced it would not be renewing its influencer contract with her, all in the name of opposing discrimination and intolerance.
Neither Razer nor Cattuzzo immediately responded to a request for comment.
Cattuzzo went into more detail about her frustration over the harassment she faces as a female influencer in a Twitlonger post published yesterday before Razer’s announcement.
“The intention was never to be a misandrist and much less to insult ALL men (because as I said, there are exceptions),” she wrote. “Please understand: I post photos every day, and every day the majority of the comments are offensive or sexualizing something that doesn’t have to be sexualized. The men who comment with interesting things or non-offensive comments here on Twitter are few (and for these people I am thankful, they are the exceptions that redeem my day).”
According to her most recent tweet, Cattuzzo is currently taking a break from social media and streaming, citing death threats made against her family and friends.