Turner Tenney, known via his social channels as Tfue, is suing gaming organisation Faze Clan for operating illegally. 

The 21-year-old claims that the company has not acted within his interests, often denying him potential business opportunities and only letting him access 20 per cent of his own earnings.

The legal complaint, shared by The Hollywood Reporter, also claims that Faze Clan is in violation of California's Talent Agency Act by limiting Tunney's access to professional opportunities. 

Tunney signed a 'Gamer Contact' when he joined the organisation, which stipulated that he would only get to keep 20 per cent of the revenue made from branded content on social channels, Twitch or YouTube.

"Though Faze Clan does not hold the requisite talent agency license, Faze Clan continuously and systematically procures and attempts to procure employment and engagements for Tenney as an artist in violation of Labor Code § 1700.5," writes attorney Bryan Freedman of Freedman + Taitelman in the filing.

Seeking repayment

Tenney claims to have lost numerous brand deals as a result of Faze Clan's dictation, including a partnership with HyperX. After this, Tenney states that he tried to end his affiliation with the organisation, to be told by Faze Clan that his contract still stands. 

In his legal complaint, Tenney has requested for the contract to be declared void, and for Faze Clan to repay whatever revenue they have kept from him, as well as compensation for damages.

Dodgy dealings 

Faze Clan is also under fire for how it has recruited talent in the past. The complaint also mentions that the company signed an 11-year-old gamer, but urged them to lie about their age for the sake of the signing. 

Tenney also claims that Faze Clan pressured him into moving to Hollywood to live among other influencers, where he says he was encouraged to engage in underage drinking and gambling.

In a statement to THR, Freedman said that his firm and Tenney are "sending a message" with this complaint.

"The time is now for content creators, gamers and streamers to stop being taken advantage of through oppressive, unfair and illegal agreements," Freedman said.

"The significant legal actions taken today will be a wake-up call that this behaviour will no longer be tolerated. The gaming community deserves a safe environment that allows gamers the freedom to control their own careers.”

Faze Clan response 

In retaliation, Faze Clan has released a statement regarding Tenney's actions.

"We're shocked and disappointed to see the news of Tfue's press article and lawsuit," it read.

"Over the course of our partnership with him, which began in April 2018, FaZe Clan has collected:

$0 - Tournament Winnings
$0 - Twitch Revenue
$0 - YouTube Revenue
$0 - from any social platform

In fact, we have only collected a total of $60,000 from our partnership, while Tfue has earned millions as a member of FaZe Clan. While contracts are different with each player, all of them - including Tfue's - have a maximum of 20 per cent to FaZe Clan in both tournament winnings as well as content revenue, with 80 per cent to the player. In Turner's case, neither of those have been collected by FaZe Clan."

We're proud of what we've accomplished together of the past year with Turner and will continue to support him."

Faze Clan owner Ricky Banks also tweeted about the complaint, stating that the company has never collected money won by Tenney.