Hi-Rez GM Quits After Ranting Over Selfishness of Suicide

Hi-Rez streamer Brandon 'DM Brandon' Nance has left the company after ranting to a donor about his attempted suicide. The viewer had made a $5 donation to Nance during a SMITE live stream and indicated that watching his streams had helped him overcome a suicide attempt. After that, Nance went on a tirade about his controversial views on the subject.

"There are a lot of streamers out there that would appreciate that message. I'm just going to call you an asshole.

"It's a selfish, stupid thing to do.

"If you don't like my opinion about that, you can find someone else to watch who's gonna tell you killing yourself is okay. "Go f*** yourself, kid."

After the statements came to light, Hi-Rez issued a statement stipulating that Nance's opinion on suicide is not indicative of the company's philosophy.

At Hi-Rez, we care about our community deeply and we take topics like suicide, depression and mental illness not lightly. All our employees are free in their opinions, but when people don't respect the values we stand for as a company, we treat it seriously.

If any good comes from this episode, we hope it shines a light on mental illness issues, and the need for broader education, support and open conversation about how these devastating illnesses are perceived and discussed in our society. All of us have important people in our lives that have been touched by mental illness. How we talk about these diseases is important.

As a result of the issue, Nance has left Hi-Rez and the company has, according to Eurogamer, made a donation to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

You can check out the video for yourself below.