Should Streamers Worry About Celebrities Taking Over Their Space?

Over the last few years, celebrities have quietly and maybe to some degree annoyingly infiltrated every corner of the internet. First YouTube, then podcasting, and now they’re slowly working their way towards streaming. More and more actors, musicians, and influencers are launching their own Twitch channels, often pulling massive audiences overnight. But it raises the question: Should the streamers who built these platforms from the ground up be worried?

When Tyla casually streamed around the release of her WWP EP this summer, it felt like a fun, spontaneous promo move. Then came Doja Cat, who hopped on during her album rollout for Vie to play videos and talk with fans. Ice Spice, Olympic gymnast Suni Lee, and rapper Bb Trickz all streamed during Paris Fashion Week; there was chatting, partying, and giving followers a front-row seat for the glamour. Most recently, Justin Bieber has taken to Twitch, teasing his Coachella performance, skateboarding around some anonymous location, and casually answering fan questions.

It’s a pattern we’ve seen before. Celebrities entering digital spaces built by everyday creators has become almost formulaic. They did it to YouTube, then to podcasting, and even to journalism (big sigh). Each time, the same cycle plays out, celebrities draw new eyes and brands to the platform, but they also risk overshadowing the people who made those spaces thrive in the first place. The benefits that include visibility, money, and new audiences come at a cost in terms of oversaturation, authenticity fatigue, and creative burnout among smaller creators.

“You got rappers on this shit. Twitch is cooked,” streamer Rayasianboy, who’s often associated with AMP, recently said, shaking his head vigorously. “No cap, no cap, streaming is over, bro. I don’t what the fuck they doing, gang. You got Justin Bieber streaming. Shit is over, you heard.”

@erridium
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That frustration echoes a broader sentiment in the streaming community that the rise of celebrity streamers could flatten what made the medium feel intimate and unique in the first place. Streaming was built around personality-driven, unfiltered interactions. It rewards stamina, spontaneity, and the ability to keep viewers entertained for hours on end. Celebrities, for all their fame, often don’t have the time or patience for that kind of grind.

There’s also the question of authenticity. Fans tune in to regular streamers because they feel like peers or like people they can talk to, joke with, and watch in real time without polish. A celebrity stream, on the other hand, is often heavily mediated or tied to a promotional cycle. Most musicians are hopping on live not because they want to game or vibe with fans, but because they’re pushing a new single, album, or brand collab.

Some argue though that “IRL” streams, where creators broadcast their daily lives out in the real world, are a natural fit for celebrities, whose fame already invites public fascination. People are simply more curious about what someone like Doja Cat eats for dinner than they are about what a random streamer does on a Tuesday night. But on the other, that very appeal is what makes it a fad. For most celebrities, streaming is a temporary extension of their marketing machine. Once the album cycle wraps or the sponsorship deal ends, they more than likely log off.

Celeb podcasts have failed because not even being a big name can make someone worthwhile to listen to, and the same logic applies here. The biggest names in streaming aren’t necessarily the most famous people; they’re the most consistent, the most engaging, and the most willing to let audiences in on their real lives.

So, should streamers be worried? Probably not. For the stars, it’s a side quest. For the streamers, it’s their world, and they know it better than anyone else.