TheQuartering [6/21/2023]
The ongoing drama over NICKMERCS’ anti-LGBTQ comments continued with the polarizing Twitch streamer declaring that Hasan is “dead” to him. While Activision already removed NICKMERCS’ Call of Duty operator bundle following his contentious tweets, the controversy continued when a number of his colleagues came out in support of the content creator.
The biggest such show of encouragement to date came in the form of Dr Disrespect’s decision to demand an apology for NICKMERCS after uninstalling Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in protest of Activision’s bundle removal. This didn’t sit well with some other Internet personalities, including Hasan Piker, best known by his streaming alias HasanAbi. During a mid-June stream, Hasan remarked that Dr Disrespect is “more loyal to NICKMERCS having his skin than his own wife.” The quip was referring to the fact that Dr Disrespect, whose real name is Herschel Beahm IV, took a short break from streaming in late 2017 after publicly admitting to infidelity.
And while Dr Disrespect already responded to Hasan’s criticism of the NICKMERCS controversy by calling him names, the streamer at the center of the drama has now also weighed in on the issue. During a June 19 broadcast, NICKMERCS said that he recently messaged Hasan about cutting ties with him over the ongoing quarrel, remarking that his colleague is “dead” to him after joking about Dr Disrespect’s infidelity. He also acknowledged that neither of them are likely to “lose any sleep” over this turn of events.
NICKMERCS apparently took particular issue with the fact that Hasan joked about Dr Disrespect’s marriage on his wedding anniversary, having said as much during the same broadcast. And while his own followers agreed with the sentiment that Hasan’s comments were disrespectful, many social media reactions skewed in the opposite direction.
NICKMERCS’ original comments that prompted this ongoing frenzy already took a backseat to the ensuing drama. But as a reminder, the controversy started with a June 7 tweet that saw the Twitch streamer claim pro-LGBTQ demonstrators “should leave little children alone.” That remark was made all the more polarizing due to its context, seeing how NICKMERCS was commenting on a video showing violence against pro-LGBTQ demonstrators. This, in turn, prompted many to interpret his statement as condoning anti-LGBTQ violence, which is something that the streamer vehemently denied.