Twitchstreamer and FaZe Clan owner Nordan “Rain” Shat has recently been vocal about problems within the company. The influential esports organization, known for competing in various gaming tournaments, was reportedlygoing through financial troubles. In light of this, Rain accused FaZe’s corporate management of “selling out,” and exploiting and underpaying members who’ve been with the organization from the start.
Rain’s barrage of FaZe exposés on social media would go on for months. The most recent controversy would involve Twitch streamer andStranger Thingsactress Grace Van Dien. Also known as bluefille,Van Dien signed with FaZeas a content creator, which was met with mixed reactions. Mostly because Rain previously claimed that the organization would sign celebrities even if they didn’t have a gaming background, and would be paid more than FaZe members. The drama between Van Dien and Rain would then escalate in the coming days.
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The FaZe Rain and Grace Van Dien Controversy
On May 18th, Rain had leaked FaZe was going to announce Van Dien as its latest content creator. He claimed that she was only signed because she playedChrissy Cunningham onStranger Things. He also mocked the actress for not knowing what a “trickshot” was, which FaZe was known for doing inModern Warfare 2.
FaZe announced Van Dien’s signing more than a week later. In her announcement video, Van Dien, who’s only the second female streamer signed to FaZe along withKalei Raney, said she wanted to be a positive voice for women gamers in a male-dominated space. She also noted that she found a home in FaZe after hearing its future plans to bring more representation to the company. However, this was overshadowed by the negative comments directed at the company, and by extension, Van Dien.
Rain and Van Dien would later have public spats onTwitchand Twitter. The latter also uploaded a YouTube video to talk about the controversy, saying that she didn’t know that the FaZe owners actually disliked her. She also played a recording of Rain insulting her while streaming, where he made fun of her appearance and said he wouldn’t touch her “in my drunkest nights.”
The comment didn’t sit well with Van Dien as she emphasized that this was the type of misogyny that was prevalent in the gaming space. Especially FaZe, which has been criticized in the past for its machismo culture. She also surmised that people hated that she joined FaZe because she was a woman, claiming that there was no backlash whenSnoop Dogg was signedlast year.
Grace Van Dien Threatens to Leave FaZe
After days of going back and forth online, the two Twitch streamers met up on May 30 to hopefully resolve their issues. Rain uploaded a video of their discussion on his YouTube channel, spliced together with commentary to defend himself from Van Dien’s criticisms. This included a 2013 tweet where Rain said that he wanted to sexually assaultEmma Watson.
Rain said the discussion was meant to be harmless and respectful, but as it progressed, he started arguing with Van Dien. The video ended with the actress getting emotional and walking out on Rain. She also threatened to leave FaZe if the video was uploaded.
FaZe later released a statement on its Twitter page to show support for Van Dien during this turbulent time. But as of writing, it seems like the actress removed “FaZe” from her bio and set her Twitter to private. This led many to believe that she already terminated her contract with the company. Some of her followers also saw that she replied “Is this a joke?” to FaZe member Nate Hill’s tweet asking who wanted to join the organization.
This isn’t the first time FaZe has been the subject of controversy as it dealt withtalents being involved in a cryptocurrency scamand being caught saying racial slurs, among many others. Now, it seems that FaZe has internal problems that might be affecting its members, both old and new.
