Activision has recently removed the Nickmercs bundle from the Call of Duty Warzone and Modern Warfare II store after the streamer was caught in a controversy.
Popular video gamer streamer and co-owner of FaZe Clan, Nicholas ‘Nickmercs’ Kolcheff, faced massive backlash following his controversial tweets regarding an unfortunate incident that took place outside a school board meeting in Glendale, California.
The incident in question was a protest that led to a massive brawl between anti-LGBTQ+ protestors and LGBTQ+ community supporters outside the school. The board was voting on whether June should be considered Pride month. Despite the presence of multiple law enforcement units, the protestors launched into a brawl and the scene took an ugly turn. When Chris ‘Puckett’ Puckett, an esports caster and former player, reported about this protest, Nickmercs replied to his tweet, saying the little children should be left alone, indicating he thinks that it’s best not to involve school-going children in such matters.
They should leave little children alone. That’s the real issue.
— FaZe Nickmercs (@NICKMERCS) June 7, 2023
The tweet sparked a massive backlash, with many netizens calling the streamer bigot, and homophobe, and demanding he apologizes for his remarks. The tensions grew higher, yet Nickmercs stood by his statement, claiming that he will not apologize for what he said, as he doesn’t regret his remarks. He claimed that there were no anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments in his mind when he posted the tweet, nor does he discriminate against anyone based on their gender or sexual preferences.
https://clips.twitch.tv/TentativeDepressedTomatoTwitchRPG-m9y3FbopY_ToL112
The point he was trying to get across, according to him, was shielding children from violent demonstrations and extremist attitudes presented by either party present at the incident. In a live stream following the initial uproar, he further explained where he’s coming from,
‘I want to be the one — and my wife wants to be the one — to speak with our child about stuff like that. And that was the tweet. …I didn’t mean to upset anybody. I know that I did. I’m not apologizing about the tweet, because I don’t feel like it’s wrong. I’m gonna stand by what I said.’
Following the internet backlash, Activision decided to remove the Nickmercs operator bundle from both Warzone as well as Modern Warfare 2, stating that they wholeheartedly support the LGBTQ+ movement and celebrate Pride month.
Due to recent events, we have removed the “NICKMERCS Operator” bundle from the Modern Warfare II and Warzone store. We are focused on celebrating PRIDE with our employees and our community.
— Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) June 9, 2023
There have been a lot of different debates regarding this decision, with some applauding Activision’s decision. However, a large number of dedicated Call of Duty fans have noted their protest towards this decision by uninstalling the game.
Source – Nickmercs and Activision (via Twitter)
