Pokimane bought herself an engagement ring. Now, the internet debates whether the move was empowering or embarrassing
Imane Anys, the Canadian gaming streamer better known as Pokimane, drew mixed reactions by getting herself an engagement ring. The Twitch personality said she decided to stop waiting for a proposal and just buy a ring for herself after some of her fans encouraged her to do so.
While some fans defended this choice, others deemed it "cringe."
Pokimane proposes to herself
On Monday, Pokimane posted a video on her TikTok account (@poki) announcing she had bought herself an engagement ring. She explained that commenters on a previous video "kept talking about a ring" and saying "girl, just go get one for yourself." There is, after all, no rule that says a woman can only get one from a man.
She spotted a piece of jewelry she loved at Bulgari and commenced rationalizing the desired purchase.
"The person that you are 'engaged to' the most in your entire lifetime is your damn self," she said. "So why shouldn't I get this ring for my damn self?"
The ring appears to be from the Bulgari Serpenti collection, with a one-coil overlapping white gold band studded with diamonds on every section. A similar ring retails for $12,000 on the jeweler's website.
"You know when jewelry is so pretty, you want to eat it?" Pokimane asked her followers. "Is that just me? Like, it's so delectable."
She went on to express how excited she is to buy her future husband his own engagement ring.
"You guys know how much I love gift giving," she said.
@poki my bvlgari engagement ring ???? (or.. self-engagement?)
♬ original sound - pokimane
"Make yourself happy as best as you can!"
In the TikTok comments, Pokimane's fans gushed over both the engagement ring and the act of a woman buying one for herself. Some framed it as a form of women's empowerment or a method of self-care.
"THIS IS WHAT I LIKEE ABOUT WOMEN EMPOWERMENT," sang @vuittonfemme. "YESSS. GO GET YOUR OWN RINGGGGGGGG."
"Promising that you'll take care of yourself is HUGE," wrote @hella.strange. "Self-care is the BEST care, tbh. Make yourself happy as best as you can!"
You may not be at all surprised to learn that the tone over on X was rather different. On that platform, fellow streamer Keemstar deemed the video "cringe" via the account for his pop culture news show DramaAlert.
His fans dumped on Pokimane like they had a score to settle.
"Wait till she finds out she's the common denominator in every failed relationship," said @MyNameIsNurf.
"HOLY cringe! How desperate do you have to be to post something like this," asked @RoachFac3K.
As the post spread, however, Pokimane fans struck back as Keemstar.
"Honestly, I think buying yourself an engagement ring is less cringe than getting engaged in your 40s to a girl you started dating when she was a college freshman," noted @CarbWobbuffet.
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