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Former Overwatch pro Daniel “Dafran” Francesca has apologized to Sinatraa’s ex-girlfriend Chloe “Cleo”, for claiming she was lying about her s*xual abuse allegations. Dafran spent a great deal of time suggesting that the allegations were false and supporting Sinatraa during the investigation.
However, the streamer has walked back on his statements across a series of tweets where he said he was wrong for how he handled the situation.
Dafran apologized to Cleo for his remarks in 2021 about Sinatraa allegations
On April 13, 2022, after Sinatraa announced he was returning to competitive play, Dafran made an apology to Cleo. The Danish streamer said how he handled things was wrong, that he’s going to act better in the future, and that he was sorry about it all. He tweeted:
“I called you a liar and that’s not how it should go about when someone comes out with a story like yours. Should have shown support, coming out like that is not easy. This apology is not gonna be enough, I know. I will be better in the future. I am sorry.”
Cleo was understandably doubtful of the apology, considering this could be a ploy to get back into the competitive scene if the streamer were interested in it. She doubted the apology but said that if it was real, then it was “cool,” but she had no interest otherwise and wanted the gamer to "go away."
He insisted that it was a real apology and that he spent a great deal of time learning about where he went wrong in this situation. He spoke with other content creators, who made it clear that it was important to show support for the victims, instead of immediately shouting them down.
It’s not easy to come forward with abuse allegations, and instead of being an ally, the Danish streamer immediately said his friend was innocent and called the abuse victim a liar. The streamer took responsibility for the harassment she faced since his condemnation caused a lot of problems for Cleo.
Cleo’s response was a simple “Thank you for the apology,” leaving it at that. While what the streamer did was reprehensible in 2021, it’s up to the streamer to improve and grow. The apology, if sincere, does not erase the streamer's words or actions from the prior year, where he used his platform to call Cleo a liar when it came to serious s*xual abuse allegations.
While Sinatraa was not found culpable by Riot Games’ external investigation, they also made it clear that Sinatraa was not helpful and forthcoming, which led to his ban from Valorant competitive gameplay.
Twitter has mixed opinions on Dafran’s apology to Cleo
The streamer made some incredibly incendiary comments about Cleo and her allegations, so it’s not a surprise that some people simply don’t believe him. While others pointed out that people can grow and change, but he’s got to prove it. Another response stated that his apology didn’t change what he initially said.
Some said it took guts to admit wrongdoing and applauded the effort, but even that sentiment had detractors.
Others weren’t so sure, thinking it was just a ploy to get back into competitive gameplay. Some think it’s just a big joke by the Danish streamer.
It’s going to be up to Dafran to show he means what he says. While the opinion on social media is decidedly mixed, many do applaud the streamer for evolving and trying to apologize and admit he was wrong in how he handled the situation.
