Turner “Tfue” Tenny, a star eSports player of the game Fortnite, is suing eSports organization Faze Clan charging that it illegally limiting his business opportunities, took up to 80 percent of his earnings and encouraged him to gamble and drink underage.
The Hollywood Reporter released portions of the complaint.
“In no uncertain terms, these gamers are artists, entertainers and content creators — they perform, they act, they direct, they edit and they stream,” writes attorney Bryan Freedman. “Because the eSports industry is so new, there is often little to no organization or oversight. There are no real organizations such as unions or guilds to help protect the content creators/streamers that drive the industry.
“Most of these content creator/streamers are also very young, and are often unsophisticated, unseasoned and trusting,” the complaint reads. “As a result, these young content creator/streamers are susceptible to being taken advantage of and exploited–often by those that are supposed to be looking out for their best interests. Unfortunately, this has become industry standard.”
Faze Clan quickly denied the accusation that it took up to 80 percent of Tfue’s winnings, claiming that it has not made any money off of Tfue’s tournament winnings or revenue from Twitch and Youtube. According to Faze Clan, the organization has only made $60,000 from its partnership with Tfue.
In a follow-up statement, reported by Forbes magazine, Faze Clan says that there was a clause in Tfue’s contract that stated Faze clan would be able to take up to 80 percent of Tfue’s brand deals on social media platforms. However, it claims that it never collected on that clause:
Tenney said in the complaint that he has turned down or missed out on lucrative sponsorship deals as a result of his contract.
The suit has set off a heated exchange in the eSports world, which is now estimated to be a $1 billion industry by 2021. Many eSports stars are underage.
“The time is now for content creators, gamers and streamers to stop being taken advantage of through oppressive, unfair and illegal agreements,” Tenney’s lawyer wrote in the complaint.
