Activision Blizzard, a publisher under a government investigation revolving around sexual harassment at the company, allegedly stopped a Call of Duty personality from leading her own team within a tournament held by her own organization. The reason? She’s claiming that the publisher was uncomfortable with her “oversexual tweets.”
Kalei Renay is a member of FaZe Clan, a popular gaming influencer group known for its various eSports teams. Over the course of the year last year alone, her viewership increased by a whopping 200 percent, a rise that pairs nicely with the honor of winning the GameHers award
“Wasn’t allowed to get a captain spot in our own faze tourney due to activision literally not liking my **oversexual tweets**,” Renay wrote in a since-deleted tweet last night. “Yet … the same company has a pfp of a creators [sic] ass cheek as their avi on a company twitter.”
The tweets accusing Activision of somehow intervening and disallowing aren’t specific, and Renay did not respond to a request for comment.
Our best educated guess tells us it’s likely December’s Pacific Pursuit. Hosted by Faze Clan and ATL FaZe (FaZe’s Call of Duty team), the event featured the top 20 teams out of qualifiers competing for a prize pool of $100,000. But regardless of what specific tournament it was, given Renay’s accomplishments and undeniable skill at the game, you’d think she’d be a good fit for leading a team—especially if her own group is hosting the event.
But since money is involved, and FaZe is a legit organization, it’s likely that they have to play by the book. That means having Activision sign off on things. Activision’s official code of conduct for players is rife with legalese that effectively gives the publisher all the power, demanding, among other vague requirements, that players meet “the highest standards of personal integrity and good sportsmanship … as determined by administration.” In other words, the contents of a player’s social media could, indeed, influence your standing with the company.
Renay does veer into PG-13 or R-rated territory from time to time. Look at her social media feeds and you’ll see everything from the occasional lewd phrase to, in one case, a photo of what appears to be a human-sized sex toy. On the other hand, you have a professional game studio literally posting ass
That’s the issue for Renay: hypocrisy. The Twitter page she refers to belongs to Raven Software. Yes, the very same that is organizing to form the first union among Activision Blizzard Studios, somehow. According to now-changed profile pictures immortalized in screenshots, the Twitter account on Thursday night sported an avatar of a very fresh ass tattoo belonging to FaZe Clan team member Kris “Swagg” Lamberson.
ReadMore: Inside The Revolt That Led To Activision Blizzard Workers’ Historic Unionization Push
In January, Lamberson publicly said he’d get an ink of Raven Software on his “right cheek” if the studio reverted an update about loadouts. the studio did
“This has nothing to do with FaZe (it was only a tourney and Acti actually accepts and denies captains),” Renay wrote. In follow up tweets, she affirmed the support she’s received from FaZe, and clarified that she bears no ill will toward Lamberson.
“Kalei is unapologetically herself and we love that about her,” a representative for FaZe Clan told igamesnews in a statement. “Her tweets are often deemed inappropriate by others, but obviously by her being a member of FaZe, we support her and would never keep her from doing anything that any of our other members are able to do.”
Activision Blizzard declined to comment.
.
