Saudi Arabian Twitch streamer and YouTuber Talal "Virus" has left FaZe clan approximately six months after his remarks on Pride Month received severe backlash online.
For those unaware, Virus ruffled quite a few feathers back in June 2022 for a tweet he made replying to his organization's post about Pride month with a rainbow-coloured logo in which the streamer claimed that he did not support LGBTQ+ groups even if his parent org does.
It appears that things have finally come to a head as Talal recently posted a 20-minute-long video on his YouTube explaining his situation in Arabic titled 'I got out of FaZe.'
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As the thumbnail suggests, the decision to part ways was clearly influenced by the row over the homophobic tweet last year.
"My prayers responded": Former member Virus celebrates FaZe stock crash in recent months
The news that the streamer had left the North American esporting organization was announced by the creator himself in a tweet dated January 22, 2023. The post, while making clear that he was leaving, also had an excerpt written in Arabic, which roughly translates to:
"I expect most of you were predicting the subject because the situation had become unbearable."
That's not all. In a more recent tweet, Virus shared a picture of a man praying side by side with a screenshot of a graph depicting the stock price of FaZe Holdings Incorporated, which has taken a hit in recent months.
Furthermore, the streamer appeared to enjoy the fact that his former org is going through financial issues as the caption insinuated that the stock price crash was a result of his prayers. It reads:
"My prayers responded."
Followed by a term in Arabic that roughly translates to:
"Praise be to god."
The tweet received a plethora of comments, with some supporting his decision. Streamers like Faze Blaze, did stand against the sentiment, tweeting this:
Which roughly translates to:
"I have been wronged by many people in my life but I have never raised my face and prayed for their downfall. good luck"
Here are some more reactions to the tweets about leaving the org
Homophobia and other reasons why Virus left FaZe
In June 2022, the North American organization tweeted a picture in support of the LGBTQ+ community during Pride month and in a now-deleted tweet, he attempted to distance himself from the statement, saying:
"Just to clarify that I don't support any kind of LGBTQ or anything similar"
According to esporting personality Jake Lucky, in the video Virus posted, he has allegedly claimed that ever since the tweet, he has been sidelined by the organization and barred from their social media and brand deals. FaZe also allegedly stopped listening to his ideas about expanding their reach in the Middle East.
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