Sizwe Sibiya
Well-known Twitch TV streamer Lydia Ellery has been using the Instagram username @squidgame since 2012 without incident.
But after the debut of Netflix’s popular Squid Game series, she says fans of the show have allegedly harassed and reported her for the handle. Her account was temporarily blocked on Instagram.
Although she came out victorious in the end, she has had to endure an online torrent.
“I think so many people have been trying to log into my account or reporting it (squidgame), that Instagram have banned me,” cried Lydia, from Bristol, England.
Boasting with just 30,000 followers on the Facebook-owned social media platform, the 32-year-old tweeted on 8 October that her account has been banned.
Like many games, Ellery streams herself playing video games on Twitch and Yogscast YouTube channel.
After reporting the incident and having to wait for more than 72 hours, the video gamer said her account was eventually restored on Sunday, 10 October.
“My Instagram account has just been unbanned. Not sure what to do about my SquidGame name and it being reported/inundated with messages,” tweeted Lydia.
The Netflix series, which premiered on 17 September 2021, still does not have an official Instagram account.
Image source: @SquidGaming
