Activision, publisher of the immensely popular Call of Duty (COD) franchise, has officially cut ties with Jeff Leach, the voice actor for Ghost.
The decision was made after a compilation was published on Friday, May 7, featuring a variety of sexist comments made by Leach over the years. The compilation, originally uploaded via Twitter thread by NitroLukeDX, a streamer on Facebook, showcases Leach engaging in discriminatory behavior both on and off stream. In one clip, he specifically targets a female audience member’s body and calls her several uncouth names.
The clips are meshed in with text calling out Activision and Facebook Gaming for allowing a “repeat offender” such as Leach to continue to operate under their names.
”In 2021, misogyny has no place. Yet female streamers regularly experience sexist abuse,” one slide reads.
[1/3] Jeff Leach Misogynist?!
@FacebookGaming Partner, Voice of @CallofDuty “Ghost” @ActivisionSerious personalised intrusive sexism. Influence. Contempt. Violence! Serial offender! @TheZombiUnicorn
Watch the clip RT! Respect Women! #GameOver4Sexism pic.twitter.com/jtNj3xy5sN
— NitroLukeDX (@NitroLukeDX) May 7, 2021
One target of Leach’s discrimination was Natalie “ZombiUnicorn” Casanova.
ZombiUnicorn has gone toe-to-toe with Leach several times in the past—as noted by yet another clip included in the original video. One of the hosts of “The Tauntfest” indicated ZombiUnicorn was originally scheduled to be on the broadcast with Leach, but had declined. Leach responded by taunting ZombiUnicorn and implying they were both not entertaining and only popular due to their body.
ZombiUnicorn went on to upload a video response to the incident which detailed their similar past clashes with Leach, including anecdotes and direct message conversations. They also displayed message conversations from other streamers in the same boat. Additionally, they laid out a case alleging that Leach had broken Twitch Terms of Service for his behavior and pleaded with the platform to listen to the complaints about him.
Twitch would later remove Leach from their platform entirely. The Tauntfest, as well, issued an apology to ZombiUnicorn and stated Leach would no longer be welcome on the show.
I sent @Activision a lot of documentation of his prejudice & misogyny over the years. If this statement is true, good on them for taking action.@FacebookGaming we’re still waiting on your response to allowing hate and prejudice to reign free on your platform. https://t.co/uQIvCLrHdg
— Nati ??Ⓥ (they/them) (@TheZombiUnicorn) May 9, 2021
In response to this recent thread, ZombiUnicorn issued another short video reaffirming their disappointment that certain platforms seemed to only support marginalized communities in name, only. They called it “depressing” that, as a community, circumstances haven’t changed nearly enough.
Activision released a statement to CharlieINTEL on Saturday, May 8, explaining they had since severed connections to Leach and denounced sexism—including Leach’s remarks.
For his part, Leach has responded, calling the situation an instance of “character assassination” and claiming, as a “stand up comic” he has issued similar responses to men who decided to “troll” his stream.
Facebook Gaming has yet to publish a statement regarding the situation.
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Source: https://www.dbltap.com/posts/activision-cuts-ties-with-ghost-voice-actor-over-misogynistic-remarks-01f58v452k4c?utm_source=RSS
