"It could’ve been a much darker": FaZe Banks talks about helping Sketch the night his OF pictures went viral

After Twitch streamer Sketch's past explicit OF images went viral on social media on July 7, it was FaZe Banks's house that Sketch went to talk and deal with the stress. Sketch has been quite open about how much the FaZe Clan CEO helped him during the troubled time.

In a stream on July 8, Sketch addressed the controversy and told his audience that he probably would not be speaking on Twitch if not for the help given by FaZe Banks at the time. Banks, whose real name is Richard Bengston, has opened up about the experience of helping out his fellow content creator and claimed that things could have turned out much darker:

"It could’ve been a much darker day yesterday and I just thank god it went the other way. Lessons in that."

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FaZe Banks talks about the toll content creation takes on streamers' mental health while discussing the Sketch situation

The post made by FaZe Banks (Image via @Banks/X)

Sketch has been going viral ever since sexually explicit pictures from a couple of years ago were shared on the internet. The popular Twitch streamer was quite emotional when he addressed the situation on his stream, making it clear how deeply the event had affected him.

Sketch was traveling at the time and had gone to collaborate with some FaZe Clan members. FaZe Banks had already revealed screenshots and security cam stills about how the Sketch came back to his house to talk things through. With the Twitch streamer directly praising him in his stream, fans have been praising FaZe Banks for being so helpful towards his friend during the tough time.

Now that a day has passed, FaZe Banks has revealed more about the topic in a post on X. The FaZe Clan CEO stated that he could relate to Sketch and brought up imposter syndrome:

"Imposter syndrome perfectly sums up how I feel this morning. I’ve felt in no way, shape or form deserving of Sketches praise or anybody else’s for that matter. Me & the other FaZe boys did exactly what I would hope any other halfway decent person would."

FaZe Banks also noted that all these comments commending him and making him out to be a hero made him feel uncomfortable:

"The “hero” comments and “you saved his life” shit is mildly uncomfortable to read/ hear. Idky. I’m just speaking candidly off the cuff. Nowhere else to really put these thoughts. Just processing this sh*t."

FaZe Banks recalled how he returned to making content once again after going through personal hardships and criticized the content creation industry and its impact on mental health. The esports veteran also noted that it had pushed people to think about taking their own lives:

"Today was a big reminder of why I bounced off this whack internet shit in the first place. It isn’t reality, people are so disconnected and so eager for approval and likes that they get so wrapped up in this game that they dehumanize an actual human. Push someone so hard that they really consider taking their own life."

Before concluding, FaZe Banks talked about how relieved he feels now that Sketch is feeling better after feeling sad due to the scandal:

"Really insane being behind the scenes and so close to all of it. Homie was so sad, I’ve never seen sadness like that. Everyone in that same room saw it too. I just thank f*cking god he’s chillen, safe, feeling even a little bit better."

FaZe Banks is not alone in his support for Sketch, with prominent figures in the industry such as Kai Cenat have also come to his defense after his OF images were leaked.