French authorities are investigating the death of a prominent streamer who died during an almost 12-day livestream, amid reports he was subjected to abusive and humiliating treatment in front of viewers.
Raphaël Graven, 46, known online as Jean Pormanove or JP, was among France’s most popular streamers on the platform Kick and passed away Monday.
The Nice prosecutor’s office told CNN that an investigation has been opened and an autopsy ordered. Preliminary findings suggest that Pormanove’s death was not caused by a traumatic injury and “is not linked to the involvement of a third party.” No charges have been announced in connection with his death.
A military veteran, Pormanove had amassed over a million followers across various platforms through his video game streams. His content often involved extreme challenges where other streamers assaulted or humiliated him.
Since 2023, he had frequently collaborated with streamers Owen Cenazandotti, known as Naruto online, and Safine Hamadi, both of whom participated in his final livestream.
Cenazandotti announced Pormanove’s death Monday on Instagram. During the final stream, viewers reportedly sent donations with messages to alert the sleeping streamers to Pormanove’s condition.
CNN reviewed dozens of past livestreams showing Pormanove as the target of jokes, bullying, physical attacks, and degrading stunts. Some videos show fellow streamers competing to see how long they could throttle him, others show him being hit with paintballs or doused with water. The extent to which Pormanove consented to or staged these acts remains unclear.
Subscribers’ donations reportedly generated income for the group. During Pormanove’s final livestream, a counter indicated earnings of around 36,000 euros ($42,000) over the multi-day stream.
During the nearly 300-hour final broadcast, participants were awakened by loud noises such as a motorbike or leafblower. On one occasion, Pormanove was woken by having a bucket of water thrown on him.
In an interview with CNN affiliate BFMTV, Yassin Sadouni, a lawyer for Cenazandotti, noted that Pormanove had cardiovascular problems.
Some videos show Pormanove mentioning the need for medication. In others, Cenazandotti reads messages Pormanove sent to his mother, in which he said he felt “held prisoner” by his co-streamers. Cenazandotti recounted that one message read, “The game is going too far. I feel like I’m being held prisoner by their sh***y concept.”
In another clip, Pormanove’s mother criticized him for letting co-streamers shave parts of his hair. Sadouni said she had also participated in staged stunts with the streamers.
A recurring theme in the streams was Pormanove’s desire to marry and have children, often treated with apparent mockery by his co-streamers. In a 2024 video, when asked how he hoped to be remembered, he said, “No wife, no kids. But what a nice guy! Me, what’s on my mind now, it’s to leave a mark.”
Sadouni emphasized that Cenazandotti had no involvement in Pormanove’s death and that incidents targeting him were staged. He also reported that Cenazandotti has faced online harassment since Pormanove’s passing.
Tom Michel, Safine Hamadi’s lawyer, stated that while not all blows could be simulated, all actions were consented to.
Cenazandotti and Hamadi were briefly detained in January 2025 during an investigation into the humiliation of vulnerable individuals, but they denied wrongdoing and have not been charged.
French Secretary of State for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Affairs Clara Chappaz described the case as “an absolute horror,” saying, “Jean Pormanove was humiliated and mistreated for months live on the Kick platform.”
Kick announced that all individuals involved in the broadcast have been banned “pending the ongoing investigation” and confirmed it would cooperate with authorities.
