diff --git a/src/broadcaster.zig b/src/broadcaster.zig
index cebf279..ba0cbab 100644
--- a/src/broadcaster.zig
+++ b/src/broadcaster.zig
@@ -534,10 +534,10 @@ pub const Broadcaster = struct {
         while (i < self.consumers.items.len) {
             const consumer = self.consumers.items[i];
             if (!consumer.alive.load(.acquire)) {
+                // remove from broadcast list but don't destroy —
+                // Handler.close() → removeConsumer() owns cleanup
                 _ = self.consumers.swapRemove(i);
-                consumer.shutdown();
                 _ = self.stats.consumer_count.fetchSub(1, .monotonic);
-                self.allocator.destroy(consumer);
                 continue;
             }
             if (consumer.enqueue(frame)) {