Everything we know about social media star found dead after being ‘tortured’ on livestream

A social media influencer who was found dead at a home in France had allegedly been 'tortured' for 10 days on a livestream.

Identified as 46-year-old Raphaël Graven, who was more commonly known as Jean Pormanove online, was found dead by police at the property in Contes, near Nice, France, on Monday (18 August).

The 46-year-old was a prominent live streamer and had amassed millions of followers across his social media platforms from posting videos of himself.

News of Pormanove's death was confirmed by fellow creator Naruto, who worked with him on several of his videos.

On Tuesday (19 August), French government minister Clara Chappaz described his death as an 'absolute horror', with an investigation having since been opened into the incident.

Here's everything we know about the 'horrifying' case.

Jean Promanove was found dead in his home near Nice (Instagram/@jeanpormanove)

Who was Jean Pormanove?

Pormanove was a content creator known for building up a huge following for his live-streaming videos.

His videos covered everything from the usual things, such as gaming, to more extreme, controversial videos which reportedly showed him taking on challenges and being 'humiliated' on camera.

These included controversial sleep deprivation challenges, which allegedly showed him mistreated and abused throughout.

What happened to Jean Pormanove?

Pormanove was taking part in a live-stream when he sadly passed away in his sleep, in what was part of a 10-day-long stream.

Officials described it as 'ten days of torture, sleep deprivation and ingestion of toxic products'.

BFMTW reported that users said the stream on Kick came to a sudden end after attempts had been made to wake Promanove up.

Damien Martinelli, the prosecutor in the case in Nice who is in charge of the investigation, told the outlet that the autopsy would take place today (21 August).

They shared in a statement that ‘people present at the time of the death have been questioned by police, but at this stage these interviews did not provide any guidance as to the causes of the death’.

Martinelli continued: "Equipment and videos have been seized as part of the investigation in order to clarify the events that occurred prior to the death and which may have contributed to it."

France’s Minister Delegate for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Digital Affairs, Clara Chappaz, said Pormanove was 'humiliated and mistreated for months live on the Kick platform'.

The streamer is said to have been 'humiliated' in the days prior to his death (Instagram/@jeanpormanove)

Due to the type of content he was streaming, she went on to confirm that the case has been referred to the French media regulator, Arcom, and Pharos, a platform where online content can be reported.

Chappaz described what the man went through prior to his death as an 'absolute horror', adding that he had been 'humiliated' for months.

She said: “The responsibility of online platforms for the dissemination of illegal content is not an option: it is the law. This type of failure can lead to the worst and has no place in France, in Europe, or elsewhere.”

Sarah El Haïry, France's High Commissioner for Children, also commented on the case in a translated post on Twitter, stating that it was ‘horrifying'.

She said: "I learn of the passing of the streamer #jeanpormanove. Horrifying.

"Platforms have an immense responsibility in regulating online content so that our children are not exposed to violent content. I call on parents to exercise the utmost vigilance."

Yassin Sadouni, a lawyer for one of the two streamers who allegedly worked with Pormanove during his stream, told BFM television that the man had cardiovascular problems, and the violence seen on the stream was not real, but 'staged'.

“All those scenes are just staged, they follow a script,” he said.

Viewers say the stream ended when attempts were being made to wake him up (Instagram/@jeanpormanove)

What has Kick said about Jean Pormanove’s death?

As for Kick, the platform Pormanove was streaming on, a spokesperson told LADbible Group in a statement that an investigation is underway.

The translated statement reads in full: "We are deeply saddened by the passing of Jean Pormanove and extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, and community.

"All co-streamers who participated in this live broadcast have been banned pending the ongoing investigation.

"We are committed to fully cooperating with the authorities in this process. Additionally, we have terminated our collaboration with the former French social media agency and are undertaking a comprehensive review of our French content.

"Our priority is to protect creators and ensure a safer environment on Kick."