Hasan Piker is denying allegations that he used a shock collar on his dog during a recent livestream, and viewers are split.
Featured VideoA clip from the livestream shows Piker talking about politics as his dog, Kaya, stands up and looks around on her bed in the background.
“Kaya, please, just fucking go— just stop,” he says. In the middle of his comments to his dog, she yelps suddenly and then settles down on her bed.
AdvertisementDid Hasan use a shock collar on his dog?
Some people think the way Kaya yelped so suddenly and then immediately lay back down signified that Piker had caused her distress by activating a shock collar. This concern was exacerbated due to his moving his arm in a way that could have indicated he was reaching for something off-screen right around the time this happened.
Others have disagreed with the accusations, with one person slowing down the footage and saying that it looked as if Kaya just happened to catch her nail on the fabric of her bed, prompting her to yelp and stumble.
AdvertisementAnother looked more closely into the collar some people believe to be a shock collar and insisted it’s more likely a popular Air Tag collar.
For his part, Piker has denied the accusations.
“It’s going viral that they’re claiming that the most well-trained and the most spoiled, best kept after dog on the planet is actually being abused by me, apparently, because I gave her the place command while she was getting off, and then she yelped,” he said.
AdvertisementHe also suggested his dog may have “either stepped funny or clipped her f**king foot on something,” and that the backlash is “coming from crazy haters.”
The debate over Kaya the dog rages on
Although there are undoubtedly legitimate concerns for the dog’s safety amidst the backlash, Piker may not be fully off base about the “crazy haters.” As Newsweek pointed out, a large number of negative comments are blatantly Islamophobic, which raises concerns as to whether they’re genuine concerns or just grasping at the possibility of swaying public opinion against the streamer.
AdvertisementRegardless, the debate over whether he did or didn’t use a shock collar continues to rage on between viewers.
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