'Call of Duty' Boycott Calls as Activision Wades into LGBTQ+ Culture War

Calls for a boycott of videogame Call of Duty are growing on social media after its owner Activision withdrew in-game items relating to a notable player after he made a tweet critical of LGBTQ+ policies in schools.

Nick Kolcheff, a Twitch and YouTube streamer with over 4 million subscribers on the latter platform, who goes by the moniker Nickmercs, had his "skin"—a particular appearance of a player's avatar—removed from sale after commenting on Twitter about a mass brawl outside a school board meeting in Glendale, California.

Following the decision, another notable gamer asked for his skin to also be removed "in support" of Kolcheff. Other users have also posted videos of themselves uninstalling the game in solidarity.

Activision is just the latest brand to face calls for a boycott. Several others have been the subject of backlash in recent months over accusations of going "woke," many of whom produced marketing campaigns supportive of the LGBTQ+ community.

The controversies speak to a wider culture war about the acceptance of LGBTQ+ individuals in public life. While experts have said such campaigns provide an opportunity for brands to appeal to consumers in new markets, critics have accused companies of alienating their traditional customer base.

On June 6, footage emerged of both pro- and anti-LGBTQ+ protesters fighting one another outside a meeting of the Glendale Unified School District board, which unanimously backed a proposal to recognize June as Pride Month.

The incident crystalized the tensions over whether LGBTQ+ issues should be talked about and taught in classrooms.

Responding to a video of the fight on June 7, Kolcheff wrote in a tweet that has since been viewed 15 million times: "They should leave little children alone. That's the real issue."

While some users agreed with Kolcheff, others suggested that the language played into accusations that LGBTQ+-affirming lessons were being used to groom children. While such rhetoric has been used my prominent conservatives, others have said it is "extremely harmful."

In a livestream later the same week, Kolcheff denied holding anti-LGBTQ+ beliefs. Noting that he and his wife had just had a child, he said: "Her and I agree that we want to be the ones to talk to our kid about things like that."

Kolcheff added: "The video bothered me. I just don't think its any place for a teacher or a school—I don't think it's the place to speak about that. It's not that I think it shouldn't be spoken about."

On June 9, Call of Duty tweeted that the Nickmercs operator bundle had been removed from its Modern Warfare II and Warzone stores.

"We are focused on celebrating Pride with our employees and our community," it added. The previous day, Activision had written in celebration of LGBTQ+ Pride Month that "we aim to foster an inclusive, supportive, and judgment-free environment."

On June 11, fellow streamer Tim Betar, who goes by the username TimTheTatman and has nearly 5 million YouTube subscribers, said that Kolcheff had been a friend "for years" and that it "feels wrong for me to have mine [skin] and him no longer have his," asking Call of Duty to remove his bundle as well.

The same day, an Activision spokesperson told U.K. gaming news outlet Eurogamer that it had removed his bundle as well.

Since then, gamers have asked others to "boycott Call of Duty" and have spread the word on social media with the hashtags #BoycottCallOfDuty and #IStandWithNickmercs.

Herschel Beahm, who goes by Dr Disrespect, urged his stream viewers to uninstall the game. On June 9, he said: "They either need to apologize publicly to him or reinstate his bundle in order for me to consider playing Call of Duty again."

Newsweek approached Activision via email for comment on Monday.