Call of Duty removes Nickmercs skin following streamer’s anti-LGBTQ tweet

Call of Duty publisher Activision has released the “Nickmercs Operator” bundle Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 And War zone stores, after the streamer and former MLG champion it’s named after made an anti-LGBTQ tweet.

On Tuesday, esports broadcaster Chris Puckett responded to footage shared on Twitter of anti-LGBTQ protesters attacking pro-LGBTQ protesters in Glendale, California, outside a school board meeting. In his quote tweet he said: “Americans are in a sad place right now. Let people love who they love and live your own life.”

Nick Kolcheff, who streams under the name Nickmercs, tweeted in response, with a common anti-LGBTQ talking point that far-right conservatives use to discredit transgender people. “They should leave little kids alone,” Nickmercs tweeted. “That’s the real problem.” Countless Twitter users tweeted their disappointmentin response to the statement.

The next day, Nickmercs livestreamed and said he would not apologize or remove the statement from Twitter. “I’m not apologizing for the tweet because I don’t feel like I – I don’t feel like it’s wrong,” he said, saying he and his wife “want to be the one[s] to talk to our child about that sort of thing.

Nickmercs is a popular Twitch streamer with 6.7 million Twitch subscribers and 2.6 million followers on Instagram. He is a member and co-owner of FaZe Clan, an esports and lifestyle organization. The Nickmercs bundle launched in Call of Duty on May 31, along with a similar bundle for streamer TimTheTatman. Activision has since withdrawn a blog post promotion of the two bundles.

CharlieIntel, a site that shares Call of Duty news, noticed at first the Nickmercs skins will disappear from Call of Duty stores on Thursday, saying “It looks like Activision has dropped the Nickmercs bundle from the War zone And MWII shop tonight,” noting that “his bundle’s removal comes a day after Nickmercs’ recent comments about the LGBT+ community.”

The official Call of Duty Twitter account responded the same day, confirming the removal of the “NICKMERCS Operator” bundle from those two stores. “We are focused on celebrating PRIDE with our employees and our community,” Call of Duty’s tweet read. Polygon has reached out to Activision for comment and will update the story when the company responds.

Nickmercs has not made an official statement in light of the skin being pulled from Call of Duty stores. However, he tweeted “Families are built by adversity,” noting that he appreciates those who “have my back.” Polygon has reached out to Nickmercs for comment and will update the story when it responds.