ZeRo Fans Allegedly Send Death Threats To 16-year-old Steve Player Onin For Saying He Didn't Want To Be Featured In ZeRo's Videos

It's been just one week since former top Super Smash Brothers player ZeRo announced that his lawsuit against the woman who accused him of sexual misconduct had been settled, and in that short amount of time, he's found himself at the center of two Smash-related controversies.

The first concerned a controversial tweet where he proposed gathering every player banned from the Smash scene – many of whom are banned for reasons like grooming minors and sexual misconduct – for a tournament. Now, his fans are accused of sending death threats to a teenager.

Yesterday, ZeRo posted a video discussing 16-year-old Steve player Onin winning Super Smash Con 2022. Onin's win at the tournament has been a hot topic in the Smash community, as Onin was relatively unknown before the tournament but was able to make top players including MkLeo, Gluttony and Maister look lost in defeat thanks to Onin's exploitation of Steve's many powerful mechanics. The win led to a more serious discussion of banning Steve from competitive play, as some players think he is too overpowered, though this has quieted in recent weeks.

In response to ZeRo's video, Onin apparently stated that he did not want to be featured in ZeRo's content, due to ZeRo's checkered past. ZeRo insisted he was well within his rights to talk about Onin's gameplay, and retweeted his response to his followers.

This is what it is. It’s public gameplay, fair use, and to be fair I talk good about you so it’s not like I’m bringing bad juju to you.

Also alarming people are openly talking about wrongly abusing TOS or reporting the video. I’ve taken them as evidence just in case.

Cheers ✌️

— ZeRo (@zerowondering) September 15, 2022

Hours later, Onin reported receiving death threats and other threats of violence, causing him to delete his Twitter account in response.

Onin deactivated after posting a thread, this is all I got pic.twitter.com/6WV7DQZAMf

— Chase "Booker" DeWitt (@realChaseDeWitt) September 15, 2022

It is unclear whether the threats Onin allegedly received were because of him wanting to distance himself from ZeRo or because he used Steve, or perhaps both. Whatever the case, the situation was largely condemned by the Smash community, as more began considering ZeRo and his followers an active problem for players' safety and well-being.

Heard about what happened with Onin pic.twitter.com/TAB4vxfUgL

— logannnnnnnn (@Lizardlogan_TWO) September 16, 2022

fuck anyone who was mean to onin the kid made a perfectly reasonable request and got harassed for it, what a brainless fanbase that man has

— Lemmay (@LemmayKoopa) September 16, 2022

pic.twitter.com/PRfed10Vm1

— BIGDUCKHUNTFAN7000 (@BDHF7000) September 16, 2022

At the time of writing, ZeRo has not commented on the threats sent Onin's way.