The Twitch streamer QTCinderella hosted her annual show, the “Stream Awards,” on December 7, where the scene celebrates itself. However, actress Grave Van Dien (28, Stranger Things) had a score to settle with the gaming clan FaZe, and that escalated. She insulted the masculinity or the lack thereof in the contentious group of gamers.
That was the scandal: Actress Grace Ban Dien was supposed to present the award for the best shooter gamer at the Stream Awards 2024 of QTCinderella. However, she used her time on stage for a reckoning with the gaming clan “FaZe”:
I am so excited to introduce the best first-person shooter player because I am stuck on bronze in every game I’ve ever played: That’s why the FaZe clan never really accepted me. Right, guys? Oh well, I’m not a fan of Donald Trump anyway.
On Twitter, the actress added:
The FaZe guys are so brave online, but when they saw me last night, they just stared and whispered.
Micro-Energy.
The “Micro Energy” was understood as a reference to “Big Dick Energy.” Van Dien apparently wanted to express that the gaming streamers from FaZe lack “masculinity,” in a figurative sense, but also literally in their pants.
In Stranger Things, Van Dien plays the role of “Chrissy Cunningham.”
Actress becomes a streamer
What is the actress doing on Twitch? Van Dien decided in March 2023 to end her acting career and become a streamer because she could no longer stand the film industry (via GameStar).
She streams under the name “bluefille” and has 320,399 followers on Twitch. The FaZe clan accepted her in March 2023 (via Twitter).
This was the statement of the streamer at the Stream Awards:
Actress attacked and insulted by FaZe
What was the reaction? The head of FaZe, Richard “Banks” Bengston (33), tweeted after her appearance at the Streamer Awards and her tweet about Micro-Energy (via sportskeeda):
You are an ugly bitch lol, no one is afraid of your baby voice or your 40-kilo emo boyfriend. Stop clinging to our shit, no one knows you or gives a damn about you. You tried to push yourself into FaZe, you are a damn nutjob that none of us wanted, and YOU’RE STILL MAD.
Bad boys clan repositions itself, but it backfires and the actress is the victim
What is it about? The FaZe clan is originally a group of shooter players who gained recognition and fame in the scene. They consciously took a controversial stance and played with their image:
- Banks admitted to having operated a CS:GO website from Antigua.
- There were scandals over gag contracts.
- They were involved in crypto scams.
- One of their players was banned for cheating in Fortnite for life.
- They cultivated an image as a “bad boys club,” with a villa in Los Angeles, rough parties, and the “fast life.”
However, the clan gradually became more commercial over the years, even went public, and apparently tried to become more diverse by bringing people like Grace Van Dien on board.
The original members were against this realignment. Grace Van Dien was a red flag for them and a symbol of everything that was going wrong in the new FaZe clan. They quickly pushed her out of the clan.
Banks later, when FaZe’s stock plummeted, took back control with the help of an investor and brought FaZe “back on track.” In a hastily arranged action, they kicked out new members from the clan and once again hung the “No Girls Allowed” sign on the treehouse.
As one can see from the tweet, the tone of voice is rough. Episodes like the one with Grace van Dien are apparently something they want to forget.
How did her outburst at the Stream Awards go for the actress? Disastrous. Van Dien has since deactivated her Twitter account, and Banks has deleted the tweets. However, he apparently doesn’t really regret his statement since there are still retweets of the discussion on his account:
The action at the Stream Awards shows, probably, that some things are better left unsaid. The feedback on Van Dien’s action seems to be devastating. Especially as the usual suspects, like Asmongold, jumped on the topic and clearly sided with the FaZe clan.
They behaved like assholes, as Asmongold said, but that’s how it has always been, that’s how one knows and loves the clan.
For Asmongold, it’s clear: Van Dien was just a token woman, and whoever insults what gamers have in their pants or not has to deal with the backlash: Twitch: 26-year-old beats 9 men in the vote for streamer of the year – Asmongold rants: “Just because she is a woman”
