Shawn Fonteno, the actor and voice behind Franklin Clinton in Grand Theft Auto V, says he won't be jumping into another stream with Kai Cenat — and he laid out exactly why during a recent sit-down on the Dope as Usual Podcast.
Fonteno has crossed paths with Kai multiple times over the years, including bringing his cousin Young Maylay — the voice of CJ in San Andreas — onto Kai's channel for some fan-favorite moments. On the surface, it's looked like a solid relationship between two of gaming's biggest names. According to Fonteno, though, one unresolved moment soured the whole thing.
He points to Kai's 2024 "Mafiathon 2" stream, which was filmed in Fonteno's own neighborhood. During that segment, Kai reportedly told a young fan — from a family Fonteno says was struggling financially, describing a household of around 15 people sharing a one-bedroom home — that he'd get him a motorbike after the kid asked for one on camera.
Fonteno says the bike never showed up. He claims he followed up repeatedly in the days after the stream, both directly and through people in Kai's circle, including fellow streamer Fanum, pushing for the promise to be honored. According to Fonteno, those attempts went nowhere, and he says being ignored on something that mattered to a kid left him unwilling to work with Kai again, regardless of how that decision might be received.
The story only picked up traction after clips from the podcast started circulating on social media. Once it did, Fonteno moved quickly to update fans on the situation, commenting on an Instagram repost of the podcast clip that he'd since spoken with Kai directly and that the matter had been resolved, thanking him by name for sorting it out.
That's obviously the outcome anyone following along would want — the kid getting what he was promised. But the timing is the sticking point for a lot of fans: it took a public callout from one of GTA's most recognizable actors, and a viral moment, before the promise was actually kept. In the hours since, reaction has leaned hard toward criticizing Kai for how it played out, while Fonteno is getting praise for pushing the issue rather than letting it drop.
Neither Kai Cenat nor his team have issued a wider statement on the situation beyond what's referenced in Fonteno's comment.
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