On June 7th, NICKMERCS, arguably one of the most popular streamers in the business, posted a somewhat inflammatory comment on Twitter that promptly backfired on him. This comment, which some saw as coming from an anti-LGBTQ+ stance, saw Nick’s branded Operator bundle stripped from the Call of Duty store mere days after it was released.
This then kicked off a series of events that saw content creators far and wide speak out in solidarity with – or in opposition to – NICKMERCS. For instance, TimTheTatman requested that his own Operator bundle be removed from the Call of Duty store, standing side-by-side with his long-time friend, NICKMERCS.
But now, following a near-two-week hiatus, NICKMERCS has returned to Twitch, and in his first stream back, he saw overwhelming support from his community.
Doubling Down
In a statement broadcasted not long after the ‘incident’, NICKMERCS explained that he wouldn’t apologise or take back what he’d said and that he stood firmly by his statement – but he did explain the sentiment behind it.
Last night, Nick made a grand return to Twitch, streaming some Fortnite and Apex Legends, bread-and-butter titles for the 32-year-old streaming superstar. During the broadcast, NICKMERCS secured a peak viewer count of almost 30,000 users, and in the space of the 8-hour-long broadcast, he raked in 11,000 paid subscriptions.
By way of a reaction to those numbers, NICKMERCS posted on Twitter:
The love & support means a lot, thank you. They shot & fkn missed, and one things for sure, the MFAMs got me. Train keeps movin’
In the wide, open world of content creation and streaming, it’s only a matter of time before another controversy replaces this one, and then another scandal replaces that, and then a rumour topples everything that came before… That’s the nature of the business, and as bad as it may be for some creators, it seems that NICKMERCS has weathered his storm and come out the other side sitting relatively pretty.
For more Insider Gaming news, check out our coverage of the huge Genshin Impact Fontaine leak
