The streaming platform Kick is being investigated by the French authorities following the sudden demise of streamer Jean Pormanove. The streamer handed away in his sleep whereas actively livestreaming on Kick, and questions have been raised concerning the character of his passing and what led as much as it.
Jean Pormanove, aka Raphael Graven, was a French 46-year-old streamer who obtained his begin on TikTok, earlier than transferring to Twitch, the place he gained almost 700,000 subscribers. In 2023, he moved to the Kick platform, the place he in the end grew to become the highest-viewed French streamer on the complete platform, and at one level in 2024, grew to become the fourth most-watched streamer on Kick total.
Kick Streamer’s Demise Results in Judiciary Investigation by French Authorities
Pormanove handed away on August 18, 2025, within the midst of a Kick broadcast that had been airing for over 280 hours. French media channels and Dexerto are actually reporting that an investigation has been opened into the character of the streamer’s demise. The stories declare that Pormanove was subjected to 10 days of “torture,” which included sleep deprivation and acts of bodily violence, like tried suffocation and electrical shocks. The French minister for digital affairs and AI confirmed a judicial investigation was underway, and criticized Kick for permitting the content material to go uncensored and stay on-line.
Pormanove was streaming with fellow streamers Owen “Naruto” Cenazandott and Safine Hamadi, and reportedly despatched a observe to his mom saying that he was fed up with Naruto’s streaming marathon “demise sport” and needed to go away, however wasn’t allowed to, saying he was “locked in.” His situation was apparently delivered to mild by a viewer, who donated to deliver consideration to Naruto that Pormanove did not appear to be respiration. After responding by throwing a water bottle at Pormanove and receiving no response, the printed was lower. Nevertheless, when the authorities arrived to analyze, Naruto apparently wasn’t there, because it’s reported Pormanove was discovered alone. Naruto and Safine were notably arrested in January 2025 on suspicion of manufacturing movies humiliating “weak folks,” however had been launched the identical day.
As one may anticipate, this has drummed up fairly a little bit of concern and controversy round Kick as a complete. On August 20, Kick introduced that Pormanove’s co-streamers had been banned pending the investigation, whereas Kick streamer and stakeholder Adin Ross decried the incident, known as for justice for Pormanove, and stated adjustments wanted to be made to Kick instantly. He and Drake have additionally provided to pay for Pormanove’s funeral prices, saying it was “the least they’ll do” about it.
