Nickmercs Homophobic Tweet / 'Call of Duty' Skin Removal Controversy

Overview

Nickmercs Homophobic Tweet and Call of Duty Skin Removal Controversy refers to the removal of YouTuber and FaZe Clan co-founder Nickmercs' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Warzone II operator skin in June 2023 after he made a tweet that was considered homophobic by some. Following the controversial tweet, Nickmercs' follower count purportedly rose.

Background

On May 10th, 2023, Nickmercs, a streamer and co-founder of FaZe Clan who rose to fame streaming Call of Duty, announced the release of his own operator skin for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Warzone II on Twitter,^[1] sharing images of the skin and announcing a release date of May 31st, garnering over 21,000 likes in a month (shown below).

On June 6th, 2023, Twitter^[2] user @brenonade posted footage of an anti-LGBTQ+ protest outside of a Glendale, California school board meeting after the school decided to acknowledge Pride Month. On June 7th, @NICKMERCS posted a response to the tweet,^[3] writing, "They should leave little children alone. That’s the real issue," garnering over 83,000 likes in five days (shown below).

Developments

Nickmercs Skin Removed

On June 8th, 2023, Twitter^[4] user @charlieINTEL posted, "It appears Activision has removed the Nickmercs bundle from the Warzone and MWII store this evening," further speculating that it was removed because of the tweet. That day, the official Call of Duty Twitter^[5] page responded to the tweet, confirming that was the reason they removed it, writing, "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," garnering over 30,000 likes in four days (shown below).

Nickmercs' Response

Later that day on June 8th, 2023, the Dexerto Twitter^[6] account posted two videos of Nickmercs responding to the skin's removal on stream, saying he does not apologize for it and that he meant to convey that he and his wife want to teach their children about LGBTQ+ matters themselves, believing that schools should not be doing so. He also reiterates that he does not hate gay people. The post garnered over 15,400 likes in four days (shown below).

On June 9th, Nickmercs then tweeted^[7] about the situation again, writing:

"Friends are created in good times, but families are built through adversity. Appreciate all of you that have my back, understand my position as a new father & recognize the love I have for all. Ain’t no hate in this heart. P&L 🤝"

TimTheTatMan Supports Nickmercs

On June 10th, 2023, YouTuber TimTheTatMan, whose Call of Duty skin was released alongside Nickmercs', posted to Twitter^[8] requesting that the Call of Duty team remove his skin from the store in support of Nickmercs, writing, "@NICKMERCS has been my friend for years- we went in getting our CoD operators together. It feels wrong for me to have mine and him no longer have his. In support of my friend, please remove the timthetatman bundle," garnering over 249,000 likes in two days (shown below). Activision removed TimTheTatMan's skin in response to his request.^[15]

Rise in Followers

On June 12th, 2023, Dexerto^[9] reported that Nickmercs gained a significant boost in Twitter followers after the tweet, claiming his followers were boosted by 50,000 between June 8th and 12th.

Nickmercs Dropped as Call of Duty League co-streamer

On June 14th, 2023, the @CODLeague Twitter^[16] account posted its list of watch party co-streamers for the Call of Duty League Championship Weekend, taking place between June 15th and 18th. The list does not include Nickmercs, who previously said he'd been invited as a co-streamer of the event back in mid-May.^[17] On June 15th, GG Recon^[18] reported that Nickmercs was removed from being a co-streamer after the tweet.

Online Reactions

Nickmercs garnered both backlash and support online after the tweet. On June 9th, 2023, YouTuber^[10] Daily Clips Central posted a video of Dr. DisRespect sharing his opinion that Activision should not have removed the skin, asking his viewers to boycott and uninstall the affected Call of Duty games, garnering over 141,000 views in three days (shown below).

On June 10th, Twitter^[11] user @KapzLocked made a post telling Activision to, "Stay out of politics, and focus on fixing your disaster of a game. There was a faster response to what [Nickmercs] said than anything your player base has been requesting for the last two years," garnering over 8,600 likes in two days. On the same day, Twitter^[12][13] users @GangstHannah and @EliLikesRice posted screenshots of old tweets by Nickmercs to paint him as problematic, garnering over 16,600 and 21,000 likes, respectively, in two days (shown below, left and right).

On June 12th, Hasan Piker, Austin Show and QTCinderella discussed the controversy on the Fear& podcast on YouTube,^[14] speaking critically of Nickmercs, garnering over 37,000 views in under four hours (shown below).

Search Interest

External References