Updated August 4th, 2021
Austin McBroom is being accused of scamming participants in the Battle of the Platforms boxing match that saw YouTube creators and TikTok stars duke it out for a top prize of $1 million.
The event—which took place on June 12th in Miami— featured performances DJ Khaled, Fat Joe, Lil Baby, Trippie Redd, and Migos, as well as commentary from some of social media’s biggest names like Daniel “KEEMSTAR” Keem and Yousef “Fousey” Erakat.
With seven fights between YouTubers and TikTokkers, the headline match was The ACE Family’s Austin McBroom vs. Sway House’s Bryce Hall. Austin took home the $1 million prize with a technical knockout against Bryce.
Weeks later, several influencers claim they have yet to receive payment for their participation in the event, including Vinnie Hacker who fought Deji, and Fousey who commentated.
Josh Richards of the BFFs podcast recently alleged the production company that put on the event, Social Gloves, has filed for bankruptcy. It was later revealed via trademark documents that Austin himself is the owner of Social Gloves.
Austin has now responded to the backlash on Instagram stories, claiming that Social Gloves is not responsible for paying participants, but rather the streaming service “who collected PPV numbers/purchases”. Austin insinuates that the number of pay-per-view purchases reported by the company—allegedly 136,000— is a false number and “the real numbers will come out soon”.
The event was streamed by service Live x Live.
Austin did not address the bankruptcy claims.
This is not the first time The ACE Family has been accused of a public scam. Back in June 2018, Austin and partner Catherine Paiz held a charity basketball event where they announced they would be donating $100K to a charity of their choice. The event was wildly popular, however The ACE Family allegedly only donated $75K of the $100K they promised fans— leaving $25K unaccounted for. Many also theorise the family actually profited from the event after ticket, merch, and live-stream sales.
In 2019, they took to the basketball court once again in a $100K giveaway to anyone who could make 10 consecutive shots in from various spots on the court. Austin also made a point to suggest that “whoever wins donates a portion to charity.”
Despite promoting it to fans as if they could enter the shoot-out, the family exclusively chose famous YouTubers and celebrities to take part. During the event, Austin chose a “random” person out of the crowd who ended up winning the $100K. It was later revealed that the winner happened to be Austin’s longtime friend and semi-pro basketball player, leading many to believe the event was rigged.
In the months following, Austin has been hit by a wave of lawsuits. NBA star James Harden and TikTok’s Tayler Holder are suing the influencer over financial losses from the match.
After investing $2 million into the event, James is demanding all his money back, and then some. In fact, Page Six claims that James’ legal team is pushing for a $2.4 million payday. The extra $400,000 was the alleged profit promised to the basketball player.
Meanwhile, Tayler is seeking an additional $2 million from Austin for breach of contract. According to The Blast, Tayler’s legal team claims that he “was guaranteed the amount equal or greater than $2 Million or 2% of the adjusted gross revenue of the event.” Allegedly, the TikTokker has only been paid $85,000 so far.
While Austin has yet to comment on Tayler and James’ legal barrage, he has admitted that the fighters have not been paid. Speaking with paparazzi last week, he explained that LiveXLive is “holding on to all the funds” and has not paid Social Gloves “one penny.”
With Billboard describing the event as a financial “flop,” it may be a struggle for Tayler and James to get their money back.