[UPDATE January 4th 1:38PM - Mrdeadmoth's channel has once again be banned.]

Twitch streamer MrDeadMoth has had his ban lifted after an alleged domestic abuse incident occurred during a livestream in early December. MrDeadMoth, whose real name is Luke Munday, was arrested following the incident and still faces a trial, but Twitch deemed his online punishment served and his channel is free to go live once again.

As one would expect, the debate surrounding the ban has been heated. While most expected MrDeadMoth’s ban would be a permanent one, the fact that he can now stream again has called into question Twitch’s inconsistency with enforcing its rules.

The domestic abuse incident in question occurred on December 9th while MrDeadMoth was streaming Fortnite. In clips captured and displayed online, Munday’s pregnant wife can be heard requesting his assistance with increasing urgency. Eventually, Munday steps away from stream and a noise can be heard in the background and then his wife claims that Munday just hit her. Munday was arrested the following day and released on bail. The trial is currently in process but Munday was able to stream on Wednesday.

What clips online don’t typically show is that Munday’s wife can be seen throwing items at him and berating him during the stream. By no means is this justification for Munday’s response, but it’s important to understand the full picture.

Currently, Twitch has yet to comment on MrDeadMoth’s ban and what exactly is going on. It’s entirely possible that the ban lifted automatically and Twitch has other plans but the streaming giant is now in a sticky situation. Turning the ban back on undermines the punishment in the first place and further calls into question the company’s inability to be consistent.

There has long been a debate about Twitch, its bans, and how to keep things consistent. Where one streamer might be banned for a month for using a racial or homophobic slur, another will see their ban lifted in a few days. And things only become muddled when the streamer whose ban is lifted is a female and the one whose ban is upheld is a male. Not to mention when high profile streamers use a slur and don’t get banned at all.

It’s unlikely that this situation will simply play out as is, but for right now there is a Twitch community looking for some explanation.