Over the last day, the streaming community, specifically in the Call of Duty scene, has been rumbling after Activision removed NICKMERCS’ operator pack from Modern Warfare 2 due to the streamer’s controversial tweet on June 7. Several prominent figures in the industry have commented on the matter, including popular streamer Dr Disrespect, who has uninstalled the game out of protest.
Activision removed NICKMERCS’ operator pack from Modern Warfare 2 after the 32-year-old streamer replied in a Twitter thread regarding anti-LGBTQ+ protesters allegedly attacking pro-LGBTQ+ demonstrators outside of a school board meeting in Glendale, California on June 7. At that meeting, members of the board were voting on recognizing June as Pride month.
In his tweet, Nick said, “They should leave little children alone. That’s the real issue.”
It was a short yet impactful tweet that quickly caused a storm of backlash from fans and other creators who believe his comments were bigoted and misplaced. Activision also quickly responded, saying that Nick’s operator bundle had been removed from the game as the company “focused on celebrating Pride with [its] employees and [its] community.”
Other streamers, like Dr Disrespect, had a different response to the situation—and it looks like the Two-Time won’t be playing Modern Warfare 2 anytime soon as a result.
“Don’t get it mistaken—this year’s Call of Duty is the worst in its franchise, but that decision by CoD‘s PR marketing team… I’ll tell you right now, that’s a tough one to digest,” Dr Disrespect said on stream today. “I feel like they either need to apologize publicly to [NICKMERCS], or reinstate his bundle in order for me to consider playing Call of Duty again.”
Related: What happened to NICKMERCS CoD skin? Twitter controversy, explained
Dr Disrespect isn’t the only streamer who recently uninstalled CoD, with Nick’s close friend Cloakzy removing the game from his library as well. On his stream today, the 27-year-old never explicitly said his actions were in response to Activision’s recent decision, but revealed to his chat that he had already spoken to Nick and he said Nick’s MFAM is a strong, welcoming community that accepts people for who they are.
Nick later explained his stance further on stream, saying he isn’t “anti-gay.” He did say, however, that “stuff like that”—likely meaning sexual orientation and gender identity—should be discussed between parents and their own children, and not talked about in school or by teachers. The Glendale Unified School District, the board that was set to vote on recognizing Pride month, has confirmed its “elementary curriculum does not include specific information about LGBTQ+ or gender identity.”
Activision hasn’t made another statement on the situation since its last tweet confirming that Nick’s bundle had been removed from the game.
