On June 7th, streamer Nick Kolcheff who plays under the name Nickmercs created a big problem for Activision. With a reply to a Tweet discussing violence between LGBTQ protestors and counter-protesters, Kolcheff remarked, “They should leave little children alone. That’s the real issue.” Now the Call of Duty community is responding.
They should leave little children alone. That’s the real issue.
— FaZe Nickmercs (@NICKMERCS) June 7, 2023
The context behind the comment comes from a fairly recent sentiment from the fringe right. That is, anyone who identifies as part of the LGBTQ community is contributing to child grooming. This is often compounded by even more extreme talking heads with the idea that anyone who is a part of that group is a child pedophile. In the past few weeks, there has been a massive uptick in comments like this as brands change to their yearly pride logos.
Following this Tweet, Activision took action and removed skins in the game attributed to Kolcheff. Shortly after Tim Betar, one of the most popular streamers in the world who plays under the name TimTheTatman, requested his skin be removed as a show of solidarity. The remark from Nickmercs is only just beginning to create chaos within the Call of Duty streaming community.
.@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@CallofDuty
— timthetatman👑 (@timthetatman) June 10, 2023
Nickmercs Created A Problem For Activision
It is unlikely Activision will reverse its decision, and rightfully so. Activision employs between 10,000 and 15,000 people from all walks of life. Recently, the company settled a $35 million lawsuit to resolve workplace misconduct complaints. This followed a $18 million suit in 2022. These are mostly tied to sexual harassment and discrimination claims. You would have to imagine Activision now takes these things seriously.
It is very likely that Activision has a zero-tolerance policy (as it should). Plus they could be subject to more legal scrutiny from employees by continuing to work with Nickmercs. LGBTQ groups are a protected class, and if employees view Nickmercs’s Tweet as discrimination (it is), it could create more problems within Activision.