Asmongold's self improvement kick has him cleaning a biohazardous kitchen, evicting a wolf spider and declaring himself an "expert" on racism

Asmongold may be genuinely on a self improvement kick, even if'might" is doing the heavy lifting. The popular streamer, who lives in a environment that I would describe as hazardously unclean, has had a rude awakening after Twitch banned his account for making overtly racist remarks about Palestinians.

Asmongold said that he was "slowly devolving" into the "most mean-spirited, rude and nasty, callous psychopathic version of me", which is a spark of realisation. But as my colleague PC Gamer writer Andy Chalk noted last week, Asmongold had promised on his subreddit to "react to a DEI=DIE video gaming video on its first day back to streaming".

Listen, I'm not sure that we will see a real 180. It's going take some time. But I want to give Asmongold credit for cleaning up his house.

The streamer announced his efforts via a post to X and a horrifying after-and-before shot. He proudly displayed a clean kitchen that doesn't likely smell like a landfill baking under the sun. This was a great first effort. There's a good chance he hired people to clean it professionally, but even that is a big step forward. His internet fame has given him the money to do this once a week.

Asmongold responded to the question of whether the spider in the "before" image was a Wolf Spider: "We agreed that he was welcome in the house, as long as there were no wasps." Two f*cking ants got in, so he was evicted. Fair enough, slackers do not get squatters' rights. It's a pity we don't have the technology to give spiders speech because I would love to interview this one.

Asmongold, on a more serious note has also begun to actually go after racism on social networks, denouncing an extremely rancid "anti DEI" podcast that made a reprehensible slur using the ethnic slur, "spear-chucker", as highlighted in a Youtuber Mightykeef's video, who correctly states: "This comment is not constructive or criticism." He's just being racist for the sake of being racist."

Asmongold responds: "While it is not one of the mainstream racial insults, advanced racism enthusiasts use it quite frequently. Comment was made in bad taste, clearly racist." This naturally caused some shock, given that he had been banned for using phrases like "inferior cultures", to which he added: "Wouldn’t that make me an authority?"

In a separate comment, he says: "I have been on the Internet for over 20 years." I know every racial term, dog whistle, or derogatory phrase that has been invented to describe a particular group of people. I'm making this comment because many younger guys online don't really know, it's for educational purposes."

I'm still sceptical. This is someone who has said he will lean into the exact anti-woke culture warfare nonsense that spawned that cartel of people on that podcast, the minute his suspension is lifted. Asmongold is directly responsible for the hand-wringing which gives oxygen to people who use slurs such as that.

But I don't want to be too rude. It's a good thing to actively call racism out. And cleaning his sink is a great improvement. But what if this whole debacle leads one of the most popular streams on the platform - Internet king for a fleet young, impressionable males - to bring them along on a journey of deradicalisation? My feelings are irrelevant in the face a net benefit, right?