Twitch Streamer Apologises For Throwing Her Cat During Apex Stream

EA/Alinity Divine

Natalia Mogollon, AKA Alinity Divine on Twitch caused something of an internet poopstorm when, during an on-camera stream of Apex Legends, she moved her cat from her desk by throwing it behind her. The clip quickly went viral. 

The incident was soon picked up by People for the Ethtical Treatment of Animals (PETA) who shared the clip on Twitter, encouraging Twitch to “take a stand” for cats and remove Mogollon from the platform, saying that “cats are not props to abuse for more views.”

Mogollon has since apologised for her actions, and there’s absolutely no evidence that what she did – however badly judged – was in an effort to attract more views. I’d imagine she very much wishes the clip in question hadn’t gone viral, to be honest.

While PETA has gone in pretty hard, others have been slightly more measured. Many of us have likely had to remove a stubborn cat who won’t stop walking across a desk or keyboard (I know I have), but the issue most people have with the clip is that Mogollon looked to be entirely too rough with her pet, throwing it with what looked like a little too much force, instead of simply setting it down.

Fellow streamer Pokimane argued:

If I picked Mimi up and I tossed her to the side here she would land on my bed because my bed’s right there. But also I wouldn’t overhand ‘yeet’ her, that’s a bit much.

Not long after the above clip surfaced, critics of Mogollon soon found other footage of her taking a swig of vodka before appearing to spit it into her cat’s mouth, much to the animal’s distress. A little harder to justify, that one.

Alinity Divine/Twitch

Mogollon took to Twitter last Friday to explain her actions, saying that she “shouldn’t have gotten frustrated” with her cat, but insisted that she “dropped” it behind her, and didn’t throw it. As for the vodka thing, she simply acknowledged that was a from years ago and was a stupid thing to do.

She also said she “understands” a lot of the concern and would gladly comply with any “pet authorities” that wanted to check her home to see if it was a suitable space for her pets.

Mogollon wrote:

I also understand the desire to report me to pet authorities and encourage anyone to do so if they feel pets are being mistreated, by anyone, anywhere. My animals are well loved, and live in a warm and caring home, and I will comply with any authority that seeks to validate this.I think a lot of people are doing this because they believe they are doing the right thing, so no salt. I dont pretend to be perfect, and I will always try to do better, and improve myself.

Unfortunately, the story didn’t end with Mogollon’s apology. Over the weekend, the streamer said on Twitter that strangers are now showing up at her house and asking her neighbours where they can find her. “It’s actually really scary”, she wrote.

Kotaku has also pointed out that Mogollon has been the target of online abuse multiple times over the last few years, so the current controversy, while attracting valid criticisms, may also have emboldened those who simply want to attack her for the sake of it.

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Ewan Moore

Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.