Sketchek, a popular YouTuber in the Team Fortress 2 community has returned to the streaming service after three years, posting a new video confessing that he has lied about having a terminal illness. The streamer was known for his skill and flair in playing the Pyro class.
Back in November of 2015 the YouTuber uploaded a now deleted video of this supposed but vague illness, informing the Team Fortress 2 community of a disease he had that was affecting his nervous system and left him with little time to live. “I’m very ill and the clock is ticking,” Sketchek stated in the video. Now, he took to YouTube for his first appearance since and admitted he was in fact lying.
“I thought it would be fun to convince a lot of people that care about me that I would f***ing die.” He continues further, stating how it was something that he had been “feeling bad about lately,” and that he “can no longer bear the weight of my sins.” He finishes, saying that this is why he now feels it is right to come out with the truth and apologise for lying.
It is also worth noting the extent of Sketchek’s influence on the community both leading up to his artificial announcement and after, with Valve in March of 2018 going as far as to add a special perk to popular Pyro melee weapon, the Axtinguisher. The ability was titled Sketchek’s Bequest and was detailed to “grant speed boosts on killing blows.”
Both Sketchek and Valve have yet to reply to this news short of the YouTuber himself replying to some comments on the video, saying that he does not deserve the tribute and hopes it is removed soon. Viewers are conflicted with this news that broke, many appear to have sworn off the streamer but some seem more forgiving. Searching discussion threads like Reddit and among all the outcry comments can be found comments like ” I personally don’t mind that he lied about it. Is it f***ed up? Yes. Do I care? Eh.”
“I am of the opinion you should be able to joke about anything you want as long as it’s funny, but in this case, it really wasn’t funny,” Sketchek has said. “I really don’t have an excuse. I mean, what can I say, I just really love the feeling of taking someone for a ride. I just took it too far this time.” These are lines that come from the streamer in his apology video but sincerity is in question.
He too has said he is returning to Team Fortress 2 and making more content but for most, it seems, the damage has already been done.
About the Author
Charlie Kelly
She/Her, They/Them
Charlie loves her video games as much as she loves dumb, charming JRPG protagonists: probably way too much. You can often catch her spending too much time being emotional over LGBT stories in games. She also thinks Yakuza 6 is the best one.
