“Mango absolutely knew what he did and kept pushing.”
The Super Smash Bros. Melee community was saddened and shocked when icon Adam "Armada" Lindgren opened up about some beef he had leading up to his retirement fom the game.
Going into the new year, Armada said he had a "resolution" to try and appreciate the love and time he puts into things he does. This included leaving Melee, which is when Armada ran into a lot of "lies" and "death wishes." He has instead decided to pursue Smash 64 and has enjoyed the welcoming community.
While fans were glad to hear of his joy over his "new home," many were left confused about his negativity toward the Melee community. This all changed when Armada opened up in an extensive TwitLonger.
While Armada wrote that he has appreciated the support he's received from many within the Melee community, his experience was significantly impacted for the worse by Melee God Joseph "Mango" Marquez.
He said: "Ever since I retired, Mango has honestly been a toxic asshole to say the least, and being so without any consequences. And I guess it got completely normalized, for a lack of a better word."
Armada explained that the behavior started off more subtle at the beginning but started to grow weary when Mango kept saying that "everyone would just beat me." Still, he tried to ignore the taunts. But the narrative continued that he retired due to being "scared" of other players' improvements. This lie made people believe he didn't deserve respect, he wrote, but he hoped the rumor would fade away.
The drama heated up, however, when Mango continued to bring up a time when Armada said that the game's meta hasn't changed all that much. While Armada apologized for making the statement at all, he said that Mango has been misconstruing it to mean nobody in the Melee community has improved.
"Again, I apologize for my comment. Even in its intended form and what I actually said, it was a comment I never should have made. However, I do think it's beyond unreasonable the amount of s— I got for it, but Mango willingly spreading lies is more than fine apparently," Armada wrote, adding that Mango seemed to be holding into a "slip up" to justify his behavior towards him.
Armada said that Mango's lies only became worse from here, including him claiming that Armada wanted the Melee scene to die. People who believed Mango's words started "wishing I would die," Armada claimed.
"As someone that gave my all to Melee for so many years it made me sad how I could feel a clear change which obviously was lead by Mango," Armada continued. "It made me more sad when no matter how much s— he talked, the lies he said, no one seemed to call him out for it and in return his words became the truth to many."
At this point, Armada stopped streaming Melee due to ongoing threats and drama. It wasn't worth experiencing the "hate," he said. He also pointed out that Mango should be held accountable for the actions of his fans, which were inspired by his ongoing narrative. Armada expressed multiple times that it felt like the Melee community expected him to stay quiet while Mango continued to spread false information.
Armada wrote: "One reason I make this post is not only to tell my story but also the fact that I believe it's very important to see the result of how people with large followings impact people."
The Smash community reacted with support.
Some fans stood up for Mango, saying that the Melee God has expressed on stream that it's just banter and he's hoping to inspire Armada to compete again. But even if it's just banter, Armada's fans noted that the rhetoric still caused many people to harass and threaten him. A lot of people agreed with Armada's sentiment about a large content creator's words and actions carrying weight and having consequences.
Mango eventually responded to the controversy as well. While he took some of the blame, he also added that Armada also went about it "pretty terribly."
"I'm deeply sorry that you received death threats that were on my accord. At this point we can squash the beef and move on. If you wanna talk privately instead of letting all these f—s see our business I'd much prefer that," Mango tweeted.