Activision has removed TimTheTatman’s creator bundle from Warzone and Modern Warfare II following the streamer’s request to have it taken down in “support” of NICKMERCS. NICKMERCS had his creator bundle removed following a comment that parroted a popular right-wing talking point that compares queer people to child molesters.
“At Tim’s request, we have removed the TimTheTatman operator bundle from the Modern Warfare II and the Warzone store,” Activision’s statement reads, courtesy of CharlieIntel. TimTheTatman tweeted that it felt wrong for him to have his operator in the games while NICKMERCS’ had been removed, and requested on June 10 to have his taken down too.
This took place after NICKMERCS tweeted on June 7, “They should leave little children alone,” in response to a Twitter video allegedly showing anti-LGBTQ+ protestors attacking pro-LGBTQ+ demonstrators.
NICKMERCS’ tweet appears to be parroting an unfortunately popular right-wing piece of rhetoric that suggests all queer people—but especially trans people—are child molesters. It’s a dehumanizing and dangerous statement to make at a time when queer people are facing increasing attacks on their rights.
NICKMERCS is a member of FaZe Clan and an Apex Legends pro. Apex has many queer operators and fans, and the FaZe streamer’s tweet caused a widespread backlash within that community. However, Activision removing his creator bundle from Call of Duty games has led to streamers such as Dr. Disrespect boycotting the game by uninstalling it and TimTheTatman requesting their content be removed too.
It’s uncertain what will come next for the streamers involved or Activision.
