What happened to Max…

Editor’s Warning: This post contains descriptions of self-harm and suicide.

Kai Cenat says he and his team were surprised by Max Major’s staged hanging Mafiaathon 2 Subathon on Tuesday evening.

Major, who describes himself as a “mind hacker” and “mentalist,” hired the popular streamer for an elaborate stunt that ultimately led to widely questioned images of a staged execution.

The outdoor stunt featured several nooses and Major asked Cenat to make a selection. Meanwhile, Major stood on a platform and communicated with Cenat and his team, including special guest Sexyy Red.

“When the sandbag goes away, the rope goes away,” Major said. “That was one of three. You’re following me?” Kai replied, “N***a, I can’t kill you,” to which Major offered, “Kai, there’s two holds left, there’s two ropes left.” It’s 50-50. “

From then on, Major said they would “play that game again,” albeit with “a little bit more on the line.”

Major was then seen placing one of the nooses around his neck, shocking Cenat and others. Later, Cenat started a countdown before finally squeezing the handle, causing screams from Cenat and his companions as Major briefly appeared in a hanging position. Cenat was then heard telling his camera crew not to show the images and also expressing concern about a possible ban on them.

“Is he good?” Cenat asked later.

Efforts were made to bring Major back on stream to apologize as backlash to the stunt mounted on social media. A Major representative was also tracked down to the property and urged by Cenat to get Major back on stream – to no avail.

Meanwhile, Major shared a video on his YouTube channel detailing what he believes led to the stunt in question.

“If you look at this, it means something went terribly wrong,” Major, who has also appeared on Cenat’s stream in the past, said in the video. “But what you don’t know is that everything went according to my plan. You see, at the beginning of my performance I said that tonight was all about decisions. But not just the decisions you made tonight, but also the decisions you have made since the day we met.”

Major continued: “From the first time we met, you pushed me, you challenged me, you wanted to see me fail. So I thought I would give you exactly what you asked for tonight. You believed that the game was for me to influence you to make the right choice, when all along I planned to influence you to make the wrong decision. I knew you would choose the red handle. Even when it feels like you’re playing a game of chance, you have to remember who you’re playing against because I decide who wins or loses.”

As for Cenat, he repeatedly shared in the chat that he and his team were expecting a completely different stunt, stating that they were unaware that a staged hanging would take place.

An alleged text from Major to Cenat was also read out for the chat. In it, according to Cenat, Major said to “let the story be what it is” and seemingly referred to himself as “the villain” in the situation.

“He was refining and chatting,” Cenat said later in the stream Tuesday night. “Chat, no more magic about that fucker, chat. … Sometimes shit happens to you and it is what it is.”

Cenat also thanked those who defended him on social media amid criticism of Major’s stunt, especially those who “watched the whole thing” and knew what was happening. In Cenat’s words, Major “screwed up” this stunt, which clearly changed the tone of Tuesday night’s stream and quickly became the subject of misleading posts on X.

“It’s just the devil, bro,” the two-time Streamer of the Year winner said later. “You can’t have good days in a row. It’s literally the devil. It’s sick.”

While the stunt appeared to be widely criticized on social media, fans were also quick to defend Cenat, particularly given his claims that he was not fully informed of the circumstances surrounding the stunt before it happened. Questions have also been raised about the review process for stream cameos of this nature.

As of this writing, neither Cenat nor Major had made any formal statements regarding the controversy; this post will be updated if this is the case. Cenat’s Twitch showed that he was sleeping at the time of publication.