A tweet posted on June 7 by FaZe Clan content creator and Apex Legends pro NICKMERCS led to serious backlash from other members of the Apex and broader gaming communities, forcing the streamer to respond today to accusations that the statement was anti-LGBTQ+ and that he himself is a “bigot.”
The original tweet in question was a response to multi-game esports caster and host Chris Puckett, who was commenting on the June 6 incident in Glendale, California, where anti-LGBTQ+ protestors allegedly attacked pro-LGBTQ+ demonstrators outside of a school board meeting. NICKMERCS responded to Puckett’s tweet by saying “They should leave little children alone. That’s the real issue.”
The tweet sparked immediate reactions and backlash from fellow streamers and pros, including Puckett himself, who tried to engage in a conversation.
Other Apex pros, like XSET’s Brandon “oh Nocturnal” Singer, responded with messages about how harmful perpetuating stereotypes and misinformation about the LGBTQ+ community can be harmful and dangerous. Still more members of the Apex community, like Vexed Gaming coach, analyst, and Apex observer Loopy, vowed to boycott future MFAM Apex events entirely, saying he was unwilling to work for a “bigot.”
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The reaction to the tweet prompted a response from NICKMERCS today on stream. The response itself was a further explanation of what he meant by the tweet, as he made it clear he would not apologize for it.
“I’m making a lot of people mad, and it wasn’t my intention,” he said before launching into his view of the situation. “My wife and I just had a baby. And her and I agree, we want to be the ones to talk to our kid about things like that… I don’t think it’s any place for a teacher or a school. I don’t think it’s the place to speak about things like that,” he continues, presumably talking about the sexual identity issues that protestors clashed over.
“It’s not that I don’t think that it shouldn’t be spoken about. If that’s what you got from that tweet, then you’re just wrong,” NICKMERCS said. “It wasn’t an anti-gay tweet.”
NICKMERCS concluded in much the same way, saying he “didn’t mean to upset anybody” and continuing to insist the tweet was not anti-LGBTQ+ but that he thought sexual identity issues shouldn’t be talked about in schools between teachers and students.
While most of his ardent fan base was quick to back him up, others shot down the non-apology and some of its contradictions, and it doesn’t appear that the backlash will slow down soon.
