ValveSketchek – the popular Team Fortress 2 YouTuber – has returned after a three year hiatus with a new video. Unfortunately, he uses this new video to explain he lied about being terminally ill.
Back in November 2015, Sketchek uploaded a video explaining to his fans that he was dying as a result of a disease that was affecting his nervous system, saying “I’m very ill, my health is gradually deteriorating, and the clock is ticking, so to speak.”
That video has since been deleted, but this is the internet and nothing is ever really gone, so you can find a version of it here.
ValvePCGamesN has now reported that the YouTuber recently reemerged in his first online appearance since that video, and he’s explained his reasoning behind the lie.
He said:
I thought it would be fun to convince a lot of people that care about me that I would fucking die. I’ve been feeling really bad about it lately. I can no longer bear the weight of my sins, which is why I’ve decided to come out with the truth and apologise for lying.
The majority of fans don’t seem to bothered by Sketchek’s lie. In fact, the majority of them just seem happy that he’s okay, at least going off the comments below the video.
ValveIt’s an understandable reaction. While lying about having a terminal illness is pretty reprehensible, I’d also much rather someone I care about turned out to be lying about such a thing, rather than… well, actually going off and dying.
Sketchek went on to explain that he knows what he did wasn’t funny:
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. 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.
Check out the apology video for yourself below.
Whether Sketchek decides to return to Team Fortress 2 as a regular thing, or simply needed to get the truth out there before disappearing again currently remains to be seen.
Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.