FaZe Clan member and Fortnite content creator Jarvis Kaye revealed that he was permanently banned from the massively popular Battle Royale shooter for uploading videos that showed him using aimbots in both solos and playground mode.
Kaye, who has nearly 2 million subscribers on YouTube and nearly 600,000 followers on Twitch, explained the situation through an emotional video on his YouTube channel, in which he apologized for his actions.
“All I was thinking about while making those videos is how entertaining and like interesting these videos would be for you guys to watch. It didn’t even cross my mind I could be banned for life from Fortnite for this,” Kaye said, adding that he did not use the aimbots in a competitive mode.
Kaye also published a tweet about the incident, showing that he remains thankful for how Fortnite changed his life despite what happened.
I’m going to take accountability for my actions and I understand completely why this has happened, I just wish I had known how severe the consequences were at the time and I would have never thought about doing it. I love all of you who still support me, this is not the end.
— Jarvis (@liljarviss) November 3, 2019
It looks like Kaye’s run with Fortnite will not end without a fight though, as numerous players have voiced their support for the FaZe Clan member, giving rise to the hashtag #FreeJarvis.
The main argument against Kaye’s permanent ban is that two professional players, Xxif and Ronaldo, were found cheating in the Fortnite World Cup qualifiers, and all they got was a two-week ban from competitive play. The pair was still able to qualify and participate in the Fortnite World Cup Duos Finals. In comparison, the punishment against Kaye may seem too harsh, especially since the aimbot was used in a non-competitive match.
However, there are some players who claim that Kaye should not get special treatment just because of his status as a popular content creator and streamer. Epic Games has previously sued YouTubers for promoting hacking software in their Fortnite videos, and it appears that the developer is taking the same hard stance against Kaye. It may also not be a good message for a content creator to show videos using cheats, as it may attract others to use such software, ruining the experience for other players whether in competitive modes or not.
Players are now waiting for Epic Games‘ response to Kaye’s apology and the clashing views regarding his lifetime ban from Fortnite.
