Turner ‘Tfue’ Tenney is a 21-year-old professional gamer, Twitch streamer, and YouTuber who specializes in the game Fortnite.
Tenney is originally from Indian Rocks Beach, Florida and has been streaming on Twitch since 2014. He started out playing Call of Duty and Destiny but later switched to Fortnite after the game exploded in popularity.
He holds the Fortnite record for “most solo kills” and is considered one of the best Fortnite players in the world. He currently has nearly 7 million followers on Twitch and has over 11 million subscribers on YouTube.
Tfue is facing controversy after an incident Wednesday where he used a racial slur during a live broadcast of himself playing Minecraft. The video has since been deleted but was captured by some of his viewers.
In the clip, he says in a strange accent, “You guys fucking killed all the villagers, man. Y’all motherfuckers killed them n*****. You can suck my pee-pee, man.”
Tfue is one of the most popular users on Twitch averaging over 40,000 viewers per stream. He has previously been suspended twice from the for violating the platform’s community guidelines and may be banned permanently if Twitch deems this incident a violation.
According to Twitch’s community guidelines, they have a “3 strike” rule which states, “After two strikes, the next violation will result in an indefinite suspension, but some severe violations will result in an indefinite suspension on the first violation.”
Violations include “any content or activity that promotes, encourages, or facilitates discrimination, denigration, objectification, harassment, or violence based on the following characteristics”, the first of which is “Race, ethnicity, or national origin”.
According to Naibuzz, Tfue’s 45,000 Twitch subscribers earn him an estimated $112,500 per month ($1.35 million a year) and he averages around $500 – $3,000 in donations per stream which totals between $200,000 – $1 million a year. Being banned from the platform would be a huge loss in revenue for him.
The Verge first broke the story and reached out to Twitch for a statement but they “declined to comment on Tenney’s use of the slur,” and said, “that it does not comment on individual streamers.” Tenney has remained silent on the slip-up.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. He Was Previously Banned from Twitch for Using a Racial Slur
Tfue was temporarily banned from Twitch for 30 days in May 2018 when he said the word “coon” in reference to another player during a Fortnite live stream.
In the clip, Tfue is engaged in a 1-on-1 close quarters battle with another player and in the midst of building cover when he says “Where did this coon go?”
Tfue explained himself in a video posted to YouTube where he claimed the insult was not racially motivated. “The guy was playing like a snake, like a raccoon,” he explains, “I didn’t mean to say it in a racist way, I’m sorry if I offended anyone.” He also explains that the Twitch representative says the ban was specifically for saying the word to a “black player”.
Tfue was banned again in September 2018 for unspecified reasons. In an explanation video he posted on YouTube, he claims it was for “just some stupid, stupid stuff that I did,” and that “It wasn’t even bad, I honestly don’t even wanna get into it because it’s just so dumb.”
According to Dot eSports, Tfue’s father posted on Instagram that his son was banned for “for uttering a banned word on Twitch.” Dextero reported that it may have been because Tenney allegedly said “I have AIDS” on stream. Tfue’s brother said it was an incident where his words were “toxic” to another streamer.
Tfue never revealed the exact reason but whatever it was, it was deemed serious enough by Twitch to temporarily ban one of their most popular subscribers.
2. His Brother Is a Popular YouTuber
Tfue’s brother is Jack “10E” Tenney, owner of the popular JOOGSQUAD YouTube channel. Jack Tenney is a self-described “Entertainer, Filmmaker, Director, Editor, & Producer,” and has been making and posting content on YouTube since 2007.
The JOOGSQUAD channel features pranks, stunts, and skimboarding videos starring Jack and his friends. Tfue got his start on YouTube appearing in some of his brother’s videos and eventually started his own channel in May 2014.
3. He Sued the FaZe Clan for Allegedly Taking Advantage of Him
Tfue was recruited by FaZe Banks into the FaZe clan in 2018. He appeared in FaZe Clan videos on their YouTube channel and represented them in several professional gaming tournaments alongside FaZe Cloak.
In May 2019, Tfue filed a lawsuit against the FaZe Clan over what he described as an “oppressive, onerous, and one-sided contract”. Tfue accused FaZe of only giving him 20% of the revenue from his branded videos published on Twitch, YouTube or social media and 50% revenue from touring and appearances.
In addition, Tenney alleged that he was pressured to drink alcohol and gamble at the FaZe Clan owned “Clout House” while he was underage and participate in “dangerous stunts while performing in videos.”
FaZe Banks vehemently denied the allegations on Twitter and in a YouTube vlog claiming he had only collected $60,000 from the $10 million Tfue made last year.
“I [fucking] helped him blow up and changed that kid’s entire life.” Banks said on Twitter, “The very least I could ask for in return is he stay loyal to me and the brand that gave him his first real shot.”
Tenney eventually responded to FaZe Banks with a YouTube video of his own.
“This contract basically allows FaZe at any point in three years, to just fucking take all my hard earnings, all my hard work, and just strip it.” He explains.
Tfue also claimed that his actions were part of a larger issue in the esports community, “What I’m trying to do here is just serve justice to the esports community, the esports industry,” adding, “These kids are getting ripped off, they’re getting taken advantage of … there’s tons of people in contracts this bad, just like me. And I’m the first person to stand up and say this is not okay.”
4. He Was Almost Seriously Injured in a Skateboarding Accident Caught on Video
Tfue is an avid skateboarder and skimboarder like his brother according to several posts on his Instagram.
During his time with the FaZe clan Tenney stayed in the “Clout House”, a $12 million mansion in the Hollywood Hills where various FaZe professional gamers, social media influencers, and YouTube content creators live. He was featured in FaZe videos that showed him longboarding in the neighborhood.
In one video, he is coming around a corner when FaZe clan member Kay unexpectedly came around the corner in his silver Mercedes. Tenney falls off his board and comes within inches of being hit by the car. Thankfully, Kay sees him coming and is able to slam on the brakes in time. Tenney still runs into the car but the impact isn’t nearly as bad as it could have been.
When Tenney filed his lawsuit against FaZe clan, he alleged that the skateboarding accident resulted in “permanent disfigurement.” and that FaZe did not seek appropriate medical treatment following the incident.
5. He Dated Instagram Model Corinna Kopf
Tenney and Kopf had been seeing each other for a while before making their relationship public in March 2019. It has been a rollercoaster ride ever since.
The two frequently appeared on each other’s livestreams and shared intimate details about their relationship including the most public place they’ve had sex and details about Tfue’s private parts.
On June 29th, Kopf seemingly broke up with Tfue on her live stream due to the distance between them. “He’s only visited me in LA only two times, and he doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with that,” she said, “…All I know is that I go and visit you way more and you just don’t put in effort anymore. I think I’m just gonna do this publicly – I wanna take a break.”
Tfue later confirmed the breakup on his Twitch stream. It’s unclear if the breakup is legitimate or the two are causing drama for more views. They’ve “broken up” and gotten back together publicly several times in the short time they’ve been dating.
Corinna has also been romantically involved with famous YouTuber Logan Paul in the past which caused some drama between him and Tfue.