FaZe gaming clan owner in public row with model ex-girlfriend

It started with a seemingly innocent tweet that sparked an epic string of allegations against a celeb gamer from his ex-partner.

One of the owners of eSports and entertainment “gaming clan” FaZe has been drawn into an epic Twitter spat with his model ex-girlfriend, who’s publicly accused him of cheating on her and being a bad father to their dogs.

The fight started when professional video game player Richard Bengtson, 28, better known as FaZe Banks posted a seemingly innocuous tweet earlier this week saying “I love you”.

I love you

— FaZe Banks (@Banks) December 2, 2019

It’s not clear who the “you” in the tweet was directed towards but it prompted a furious tirade from his model ex-girlfriend Alissa Violet, 23.

Ms Violet replied to the tweet with a screenshot of a text thread between her and a contact named in her phone as “scumbag”.

A censored version of the text thread Alissa Violet posted in response.

In the text she accuses the person of cheating on her multiple times, and went on to make further allegations on Twitter.

According to Ms Violet, Mr Bengtson allegedly broke eight of her phones as well as smashing the window of a car she had been given by a friend.

Responding to questions on Twitter, she said she caught him cheating.

“I was asleep upstairs with our dogs and he wasn’t next to me so I checked our guesthouse and caught him naked in bed with a random girl,” she explained to one Twitter user, before clarifying it was in the guest wing of the house, rather than a stand-alone guesthouse.

The former couple in happier times.

Ms Violet also accused her ex of telling her to ship their dogs 3500 kilometres away to her parents’ Ohio home because he couldn’t take care of them, an allegation Mr Bengtson directly responded to.

I couldn’t take care of them? I want them to have a good life? Why are we doing this online?

— FaZe Banks (@Banks) December 2, 2019

The next day Mr Bengtson responded to Ms Violet’s tweets with screenshots of a statement, admitting he had done something “really stupid and hurtful”.

Alissa pic.twitter.com/sxtZ2cbgrh

— FaZe Banks (@Banks) December 3, 2019

“I could spend the next few minutes listing all the horrible things Alissa has done to me and why we didn’t work and why I did what I did,” he shared.

“Obviously there’s two sides to every story and neither of us have been perfect.

“Rather than contribute to all of that I’m going to do the right thing and take responsibility for where I’ve gone wrong in this.”

Mr Bengtson said he and Ms Violet had been “having issues” before he did “something really stupid and hurtful”.

“There’s additional context and it’s not as simple as who’s right and who’s wrong,” Mr Bengtson claimed, before declaring “it doesn’t even matter at this point”.

“What matters is we’re both humans and we’ve both definitely hurt each other.”

A photo of the former couple.

It’s understood the pair split in July of this year, but Mr Bengtson said the incident happened “a full year ago”.

“What that girl and I shared was special. One in a billion special. Something that I don’t expect to share with another human for as long as I’m alive,” Mr Bengtson said.

“I think I speak for both of us when I say the love was and always will be a very REAL thing. Which is why I refuse to let our very intimate, private relationship become a spectacle online,” Mr Bengtson said in his response to the accusations, which has since been retweeted more than 90,000 times.

He closed his statement by saying he understood why his former lover was hurt, but that “hurting me won’t make you feel better”.

While holding a hot drink can be dangerous in a bikini, Ms Violet has likely spilt all the tea out of this mug already.

Ms Violet is a model and influencer.

Ms Violet rose to prominence as a model and member of YouTube influencer Jake Paul’s marketing management agency and social media incubator Team 10.

Her and Mr Paul sold merchandise bearing the name “Jalissa” but denied actually dating.

JUST A FAZE?

Mr Bengtson clanmate Jarvis Kaye, 17, better known as FaZe Jarvis, recently went through his own cheating scandal.

FaZe Jarvis released a tearful apology video after his cheating ban last month.

Mr Kaye was banned from popular game Fortnitelast month for using “aimbot” cheating software.

It’s understood he used the software as a demonstration only for a video and wasn’t using it when competing in competitive tournaments.

He later apologised in a tearful video that made him an estimated $37,300.

The teenager has taken time off creating content following his lifetime ban from Fortnite, but said in a recent video he would return in some form.

“One thing I’ve been thinking about the most is how to move forward,” Mr Kaye said in the video. “I want to let you all know is that you’re going to make mistakes in life, but the most important thing is how you learn from those mistakes and become a better person.”

The FaZe clan appear to have a similar cohabitation arrangement as the Team 10 group, with many of the members living together in a Hollywood Hills mansion.

The group have a second house right next door for “clan adjacent” influencers.

Mr Bengtson claimed he spends $100,000 a month on rent earlier this year.

He has plans to expand into a larger media and entertainment business after first finding an audience by making “quickscope” and other Call of Duty trick shot videos on YouTube in 2010, around the height of that game’s popularity.

Earlier this year the company received an investment from Atlanta rapper Offset, one-third of rap trio Migos and husband of fellow rapper Cardi B.

He cited anecdotes that both his four-year-old child and 21-year-old brother played Fortnite as evidence the eSports was the “future” and he wanted to be a part of it.

The Bad and Boujee hit maker didn’t disclose how much he had invested but said he was attracted to the group because they were “like rock stars”.

FaZe investor Offset at the premiere of fellow rapper Travis Scott’s Netflix documentary earlier this year. Picture: Rich Fury/Getty Images

Offset with wife Cardi B, who he has been accused of cheating on multiple times. Picture: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

“They’re living like how I’m living as an artist … these guys are influencing things for the culture. This is what I believe in. This is what I do my art for,” the 27-year-old rapper said at the time.

His late-20s age and love of video games isn’t all he shares with Mr Bengtson though.

Offset has had his own problems with infidelity in the past so may be able to offer some advice, should Mr Bengtson ask for it.

Yesterday Offset was accused of sliding into the DMs of rapper-turned-snitch Tekashi 6ix9ine’s ex-girlfriend, which both Cardi B and Offset said was the result of a hack.

Do you think it’s right for cheaters to be exposed online or are some issues better solved privately? Let us know what you think in the comments below.