A Twitch streamer for Halo apparently faked his own suicide in order to gain money and attention. However, the scam was uncovered by his cousin and his organization. He is now seeking professional help.
Who is it about? The streamer Chris “Ozarts” Harris primarily played Halo in his Twitch livestreams and occasionally Fortnite. He had an average of 6 viewers over the last 90 days (according to Sullygnomes).
He also collaborated with EasternMediaGG, an organization for streamers and professional branding.
What happened? Ozarts faked his own suicide using social media. On January 27, he shared a post on TwitLonger and ended it with the words: “This will be my last message on Earth. I love you all. Stay as incredible as you are.”
On January 28 at 3 AM, the Twitter account HooverJMac announced that the streamer had shot himself and was now in the hospital.
He also started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for Ozarts. Some donations between $10 and $200 were actually received.
However, another Twitter account named Sam Miller contradicted this statement and reported that Ozarts was doing well.
So there were two completely contradictory statements. It was later revealed that Sam Miller was right: Ozarts was doing well.
Zimm, the owner and CEO of EasternMediaGG, later shared in a statement that all actions, including the Twitter account that reported the suicide, were staged by Ozarts.
Twitch streamer now seeks professional help
What’s next for the streamer? In the statement, Zimm reported that Ozarts supposedly had a strong craving for attention and went far beyond the boundaries.
However, Zimm pleaded in an emotional statement not to conduct a witch hunt. Ozarts is said to have sought professional help, and the organization will stay in contact with him.
A statement regarding what transpired today: https://t.co/94ClPPXzkY pic.twitter.com/1MPVcoeEDv
— EasternMediaGG (@EasternMediaGG) January 29, 2020
Cousin and organization clarified the action
How was the scam uncovered? The second Twitter account Sam Miller introduced himself as the cousin of streamer Ozarts. He confirmed that the streamer was doing well and had no idea why the other account made the false claim.
The account HooverJMac, which has since been deleted, used the exact same profile picture as Sam Miller. This raised the first doubts about the story.
On January 29 at 1:30 PM, Zimm, the CEO, published the first statement, confirming that Ozarts was doing well. He also confirmed that the GoFundMe campaign was terminated and the money was refunded to the donors.
Three hours later, the longer statement followed, which we have already embedded above.
If you have problems or thoughts about suicide yourself, you can contact the telephone helpline in confidence. It can be reached at any time at 0800-1110111.
