Overview

The FaZe Rain vs. Grace Van Dien Controversy is an online feud between FaZe Clan co-founder FaZe Rain and actress Grace Van Dien after the gaming organization hired Van Dien as a content creator in mid-2023. Rain leaked news of the hire a week before it was officially announced, claiming they only hired her because she played Chrissy on Stranger Things. FaZe Clan's decision to hire Van Dien was criticized by numerous fans and followers of the organization, as well as some co-founders and employees, with some suggesting she was an "affirmative action" hire, citing the hire as an example of FaZe Clan's ongoing financial collapse. Van Dien also gained notable online support, including from creators like Twitch streamers Hasan Piker and Asmongold, some suggesting Rain's opinion is misogynistic. Rain and Van Dien initially seemed to make up over Discord DMs, but the feud was re-sparked after Rain and her met face-to-face for a video to discuss the controversy, leading Van Dien to storm out of the room and threaten to leave FaZe Clan if the video was released.

Background

FaZe Clan, a gaming organization of creators and professional gamers that is widely known for its trickshot videos, reportedly started to experience financial struggles in mid-2022, shortly after they went public and became tradable on the Nasdaq. Allegedly, the financial struggles were brought on by a lack of proper management.^[1][2][3]

On December 9th, 2022, co-founder FaZe Rain posted a video speaking openly about problems at FaZe Clan, claiming he was not paid for any of his brand deals (shown below, left). In the video, he says, " I don’t want people to come in and milk [FaZe Clan,] and do collab after collab, that do bad, by the by, but it's just like they think the logo has a fanbase, the logo is a person, everyone’s ‘Oh my God I can’t wait to see logo' – no! The logo represents a collection of people, that make people feel a certain way. That’s what the logo was."^[4]

On March 12th, 2023, FaZe Teeqo posted a video complaining about the organization, claiming they gave him "no support" despite being with the org for 12-plus years and was treated as a "lower-rung content creator" (shown below, right).^[5]

On May 18th, the @FaZeClan Twitter^[6] account posted, "We want more women in FaZe Clan," garnering over 4,000 likes in a month. Two days later, FaZe Rain responded to the tweet,^[7] writing, "Spoiler alert it’s Grace and the only reasoning I heard was cuz she was on one episode of stranger things 💀," garnering over 4,300 likes in the same span of time (shown below). Rain is referring to Grace Van Dien, a streamer and actress known for playing Chrissy on Stranger Things.

On May 25th, 2023, FaZe Clan officially announced via Twitter^[8] that Grace Van Dien had joined FaZe Clan under the name "FaZe bluefille." The post gained over 11,000 likes in 10 days. The video was also posted to her YouTube channel (shown below). She also tweeted,^[9] "Ever since my first meeting with FaZe, we shared the same vision in working together to create lasting change for female gamers. We picked each other for a reason and I’m excited to take on an important role to help bring women to the forefront. LET'S GOOOO," garnering over 11,500 likes in 10 days.

Developments

Van Dien received some backlash for her addition to FaZe Clan, with some claiming this was another example of FaZe's failing management by hiring a celebrity rather than a pro gamer to represent their brand. Some backlash came from co-founders of FaZe disappointed by the direction FaZe Clan was going, such as FaZe Banks, who responded to a now-deleted tweet by FaZe Santana writing, "Where are they now?" referencing the absence of the original FaZe founders in any decisions made by the people now running the brand (shown below).^[10]

On May 26th, 2023, Grace Van Dien responded to FaZe Rain's claim that she was only hired for her work on Stranger Things during a stream, saying that her work on the show is how she got the meeting, but it is not the reason she was hired, saying, "Excuse me, sir, were you in the meeting with us? No, I've never met you and that is not why FaZe signed me" (shown below).

"Get fucking wrecked" – Grace Van Dien addressing the FaZe drama and speaking about FaZe Rain. #DramaAlert pic.twitter.com/AwBvgoItDE

— DramaAlert (@DramaAlert) May 26, 2023

On May 27th, the @DramaAlert Twitter^[11] page posted a now-deleted clip of Rain responding to Van Dien's video, saying she's "Gold in Vaolrant," suggesting she doesn't know what a trickshot is, calling her mid and saying she found out about Twitch through Tumblr (shown below).

FaZe Rain goes off on Grace Van Dien! #DramaAlert pic.twitter.com/rXKt67DNMk

— DramaAlert (@DramaAlert) May 28, 2023

On May 28th, Van Dien posted a video to YouTube^[12] responding to Rain's statements against her. In the video, she admits she doesn't know what a trickshot is. She defends herself for being proud of her role on Stranger Things, then mentions how she knows FaZe Rain for nearly overdosing on drugs, leading to him being wheelchair-bound, saying she's proud of him for overcoming addiction and that her mother was also addicted, but that he shouldn't come after her. She responds to his comment about her being "mid," saying it was ironic considering he allegedly has allegations against him for sexual assault. The video gained over 69,000 views in a week (shown below).

On May 31st, 2023, FaZe Rain posted a video where he shares footage of himself and Van Dien meeting face-to-face after the drama. The meeting took place after they had talked and seemingly made up over Discord DM, the messages of which he shared on his Instagram Story the next day.^[13] The vlog footage shows Van Dien confronting Rain about giving his followers "a face to hate," claiming she's received death threats and been doxxed since he spoke against her. She also argues against the idea that she was only hired for her celebrity status.

The conversation seems to be productive for the most part, with the two laughing and smiling as they talk about the issues. At one point, Van Dien says Rain had sexist tweets from 2013 and he bets her $ 10 million that she can't find them. She does and shows him the tweet, which has since been deleted, reading, "I'll rape Emma Watson right in front of your eyes."

Near the end of the video, Van Dien says she wants to help "stop sexism in gaming" and says what Rain said about her was sexist. He disagrees, but she calls him calling her "mid" sexist. Rain says he didn't mean to be sexist and tells her she shouldn't be emotional or take it personally that he called her mid. She then leaves the room and asks them not to release the video or she'll leave FaZe Clan. Following the video, Van Dien removed "FaZe" from her Twitter bio.

On the same day, Faze Clan posted a tweet^[14] defending Van Dien, writing, "FaZe is no stranger to contrasting viewpoints and passionate opinions on the future of the brand. Recruitment has always drawn that out. But make no mistake, the mistreatment of our newest member is in no way OK. Grace joined in hopes to bring her voice to FaZe & we stand by her," garnering over 12,000 likes in five days.

Online Reactions

Van Dien became the subject of criticism from many after her hiring by FaZe Clan, although she also gained support from some content creators, including Asmongold, the H3 Podcast, Hasan Piker and Critikal, who criticized both Rain and Van Dien amid the controversy (examples shown below).

Search Interest

External References