GTA 6 is perhaps the most anticipated game so far. This is because the GTA has most certainly been one of Rockstar’s most profitable IPs, not to mention just the announcement for the trailer which will come out in early December as per Rockstar broke the record for the most liked tweet.
Part of the hype for GTA 6 was because Rockstar’s last entry in the series, GTA 5 was an instant hit among gamers. The game upped the ante even as per Rockstar’s standards. The game was the first one to introduce multiple protagonists in the series. Each of them had their missions, idiosyncrasies, and everything that made them as unique as can be.
One of the protagonists was Michael De Santa a.k.a Michael Townley in the game. Michael was voiced by Ned Luke who has gained popularity and garnered recognition ever since. Unfortunately, due to an incident that occurred when Luke was streaming GTA Online. Ned Luke is the latest victim in the long list of video game streamers who have been swatted while streaming.
What Exactly Is Swatting and What Happened to Ned Luke of GTA 5 Fame?
For those unaware, Swatting is an act of harassment that is done to internet personalities like video game streamers and gamers. The act sees a person calling the authorities by filing a fake complaint against an individual who is usually streaming or engaging in an online interaction. This nefarious activity is done for despicable reasons.
This is usually done when the personal information of an internet personality is leaked online. Unfortunately, this is not the first time that a streamer has gone through this traumatic experience. Many incidents of the same have been witnessed and have been reported online. It is unclear as to how Ned Luke’s personal information such as his IP address was leaked to the public and was then used to issue an alert to emergency police authorities.
One can see that Luke, despite the news largely maintains his composure even after the call. After informing the audience about what happened, he wishes them well with utmost civility before ending the stream. The incident is utterly shameful, deplorable, and outright nerve-wracking. It is time that people understand that doing something like this is not to be taken lightly. That it is not fun and games.
Fans of Luke were rightly enraged and aggravated after the incident. That is because not only is the situation traumatic for the actor and his fans. In hindsight, fans suspected that it was because his IP address was leaked while he was playing the game, meaning that Rockstar Games was to be blamed for this, at least in part.
When a fan seemingly blamed Rockstar’s inability to protect GTA Online’s player base’s IP addresses, Ned clarified that Rockstar had nothing to do with the incident. Twitter user Isture (@IIstura) quoted the footage and blamed Rockstar Games, Ned had this to say on the matter.
Y’all jumping to some large a** conclusions. This had nothing to do with Rockstar. These a**holes leaked my private info years ago and have been doing this s**t since.
The actor further stated that:
Anyone’s info is available online if you are sick enuff to really wanna find it.
Following this, the actor even posted a thread on Twitter and ensured his fans that he and his family were alright after the swatting. Luke also stated that this is the sixth time something like this has occurred. He also shared that authorities have significant evidence and justice will most likely be served.
Trust me, if I believed that were the case, not only would they hear from me, I would have heard from them, and their army of lawyers would handle it. So back off of that shit. And get ready for six. It'll be here when the time's right and it's gonna be epic ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
— Ned Luke (@ned_luke) November 24, 2023
The act of swatting can have some serious consequences for the victim. In some extreme incidents, victims have even lost their lives due to the terrible act of swatting. Everyone from YouTube streamer iShowSpeed to professional personalities like Author Patrick Tomlinson have been swatted. The latter has been a victim of the crime an outrageous number of 40 times! Swatting is a federal crime in the US and the perpetrator can be sentenced when caught eventually.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the only time when someone who thought they were funny harassed someone who was related to a video game. In an enraging turn of events that involved another rockstar game, Red Dead Redemption 2, a namesake of Colm O’ Driscoll who is an antagonist in the game was receiving hate mail and threats online in 2018. It is deeply saddening that things like these still happen in the current scenario. We deeply condemn and discourage the cowardly act of swatting innocent individuals.
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