xQc responds to Macaiyla on Valorant player banned for harassment
It seemed simple enough at first. Content creator Jake Lucky heard a Valorant player say he wanted to “rape” female steamer Macaiyla, so he reported him for harassment. Riot banned the player for his inappropriate language. But now Macaiyla is saying that she didn’t want the player banned and didn’t want the story shared publicly, creating new controversy online.
Jake Lucky shared the clip of a Valorant player telling Macaiyla he wanted to rape her. He also tweeted that he spoke to Riot Games and Valorant developers after the incident and was happy to report that action had been taken against the toxic player. In a since-deleted tweet, Macaiyla called Lucky “cringe.”
“I didn’t even want him banned. It was never this deep. Like what the fuck. I literally threw the end of the game,” Macaiyla said. “I’m just gonna make my clips subs only. This shit is so cringe, oh my God. People speaking up for me when I never asked. So weird.”
Lucky responded to Macaiyla’s outburst with a tweet of his own. He said that her response was “cringe” and that he was just doing what he felt was right in the situation. Macaiyla replied that she “didn’t ask for help.” And if she did, she would have told her boyfriend, Tyler “Tyler1” Steinkamp to take action instead.
“I’m not even saying this person shouldn’t be banned. Never once did I say that. But making it public doesn’t even spread any awareness, you’re just giving me more harassment to deal with. This could’ve been solved privately. This isn’t hard to understand. Holy shit,” Macaiyla continued in another deleted tweet.
Sorry that Riot took action against someone who said you should be r*ped? Your response to all of this is cringe, was just doing what I thought was right
— Jake Lucky (@JakeSucky) March 16, 2021
The female variety streamer then sent a DM to Lucky privately on Twitter. She asked him to remove the clip. When Lucky asked why, Macaiyla explained that she “didn’t want to be involved in this attention.” Lucky agreed to delete the clip and apologized.
But it seemed like Macaiyla had more to say. In another deleted tweet, she noted that she was “just as bad” as the male player who was banned for wanting to rape her. In yet another deleted tweet, she accused Lucky of wanting to be a “nice guy,” seeming frustrated that he shared the situation publicly.
“This guy went out of his way to report the content, then reach out to Riot on my behalf without even trying me, and then tweet about how much goodness he did for the world and you guys don’t find that fucking weird? What awareness is this spreading? ‘I’m a good guy look at me,'” Macaiyla said.
xQc and streaming community respond to Macaiyla’s Valorant ban frustration
Many in the streaming community agreed with Macaiyla that Lucky should have asked her about the issue privately rather than publicly posting the incident. But others felt that it was an important issue to bring to the gaming community’s attention. It’s not just about Macaiyla, many added. It’s about the constant sexism and harassment women face while trying to play Valorant and other competitive titles online.
A lot of people were surprised to see that Felix “xQc” Lengyel agreed with this sentiment. Often seen as controversial himself, xQc appeared frustrated with Macaiyla’s take on the situation.
“I think it has less to do with you personally and more to do with the fact that this person seemed comfortable saying stuff like that and not every woman will handle it like you did,” xQc said before Macaiyla deleted her initial tweet. “Riot is trying to establish a safe environment for their players to enjoy their game.”
I think it has less to do with you personally and more to do with the fact that this person seemed comfortable saying stuff like that and not every women will handle it like you did. Riot is trying to establish a safe environment for their players to enjoy their game.
— xQc (@xQc) March 16, 2021
xQc was then questioned as to why Lucky would share the clip publicly.
“This is different than your typical soloQ. When extremely trashy behavior with ‘dangerous’ wording is platformed and broadcasted to the public, it can empower malicious people to do the same. Showing what happens to those people publicly can heal that damage a little in my opinion,” xQc said.
Valorant has continuously been in the spotlight for its toxic community. One of Valorant’s own developers refused to play the game early on due to the harassment she faced online. Developers have come up with ways to fight toxicity, including voice bans, but the issue has continued to persist thus far.
Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.
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