X/@FearedBuck
Faze Banks, the widely criticized co-founder of the esports and content collective Faze Clan, revealed his inner lip tattoo which drew mixed reactions from the public. The social media influencer who is 31 years old shared a picture of what seems to be a scripted tattoo with the public and thus provoked many conversations about his choice, maturity and the individualsā age.
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This led to the fact that Faze Banks not just had his inner lip tattoo done. He did not have it done on his shoulder, chest, or any other inconspicuous part of the body. He simply got it on the inside of the lip! It is a very courageous act; at least letās put it that way. As the picture went fast around and the responses promptly came back, they, as usual with Banks, were extremely divided. Some people called it tough, while others said it was one of the least manly tattoos they had ever seen. Although, the debate had an issue more pronounced in discussions that was not really about the tattoo but about the age of the man.
Faze Banks is actually called Richard Bengtson and he is 31 years old. Nevertheless, in the very active, fast-paced, youth-oriented internet culture domain, that might as well be 60. Many comments pointed to this fact. One user commented flatly, āA grown man by the way.ā Another just said, āAgain, he is about to hit 40.ā The thought was shared by many who saw the tattoo as a juvenile act of a man already in his thirties. āUnc is getting too old to be doing this type of shi,ā one person who referred to him with āuncā, meaning uncle, wrote.
His obsession with age even led to a small debate being played out in the comments section. When one user said that Banks is āpushing 40,ā another retorted, āWell heās closer to 30 than 40 soo.ā That didnāt change anything. The story was clear: this was not how a man of his age would behave. Banks is not a newcomer to this issue; he has always lived in the midst of it with his aggressive posturing that is often mistaken for self-confidence or even mad.
At the same time as the critiques related to age were being voiced, disgust and mockery were among the different reactions. One of the comments said: āThe moustache hanging over his lip š¤®,ā where the writer seemed to be more critical about the presentation than the actual ink. Perhaps unintentionally, one other user, in a sort of backhanded compliment, said: āthats lowk tuff ian gon lie šššāāwhich in turn means āthatās lowkey tough, Iām not gonna lie,ā so even through the laugh the acknowledgment came. Then there were the very extreme opinions. āThis nigga needs to be locked up,ā one jokingly suggested, while another said, āI can smell this scumbag through my screen.ā
Some followers supported him and expressed, āHe is the best member of the faze clan and if u donāt agree ur lyingā one person said. Another one, somewhat, indicated a kind of hope of being like him at that age, āI hope Iām like this when Iām 40.ā But these people were in minority compared to the majority of people, who were puzzled and critical, who outnumbered them by sheer number of their voices. Moreover, the location of the tattoo raised some suggestive dirty-minded speculations, with one asking, āIs that what he calls Charli Damelio?āāa reference to the TikTok star Banks is supposedly romantically linked to.
The response from the public mirrors the weird situation in which Faze Banks is placed. On the one hand, he is a prosperous entrepreneur who was instrumental in the formation of a digital empire, on the other hand, his public conduct continually calls into question his maturity. It is a conflict that seems to accompany him, or at least he has been ignoring it, over the years. Banks has always made it clear that he will garner attention, whether it is good or bad, from fights bursting into the limelight to his TV reality spot on āThe Bachelorette.ā This lip tattoo is just the most recent instance of provocation to the public among the long list of such instances.
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Eventually, the internet did what it does best: it reacted, it judged, and it moved on. Currently, the tattoo is part of the ongoing debate about Faze Banksā character from his story, a new topic of public debate about his character. Whether it is a symbol of rebelliousness or immaturity is a question of who you ask. For Banks, the rather engaging debate is probably the point. And if we are to judge from the comments, that debate is still alive and kicking.

