Kotaku Senior Editor Alyssa Mercante made an appearance on YouTube channel Giant Bomb where she challenged YouTubers to fight.
Alyssa Mercante via Smash JT YouTube
Mercante shared a clip of her appearance and stated, “I want people in the industry to be a little bit louder about people being mean to other people and maybe say it’s not a good thing. Maybe say we don’t want you around if you’re going to be a c**t and hateful and the games industry naturally not because anyone is making them be diverse because the world is diverse, you stupid motherf***er. And if you have a problem with that, come fight me, physically, b***h.”
Oddly, after just issuing the challenge, one of the other individuals in the room then asked if anyone had taken her up on it. She responded, “No, because they’re all p*****s.”
An important message straight from the @giantbomb couch! pic.twitter.com/pSGkzOIeie
— Alyssa Mercante (@alyssa_merc) June 8, 2024
It would be wildly interesting if people in the video game industry did indeed take her advice given Mercante is one of the meanest people operating in it. One need only look at what she posts on X. Recent posts details she’s “marinating in men’s tears.”
Alyssa Mercante on X
In another post, she attacked former World of Warcraft Team Lead Mark Kern writing that he is “old” and “crusty” and that she has “a ton of super-rare merch from the game he drove into the ground that I’ll be auctioning off” for for Trans Lifeline once I’m back and settled after SGF.”
Alyssa Mercante on X
In fact, Mercante previously called for Kern to be blacklisted from the industry. She wrote on X, “This absolute toe nail is trying to sic any of his followers on WOMEN/POCs/QUEER FOLX in the industry. Every single person in a position of power should be speaking out against this with their entire chest. Ban this man from events. Support your employees. Period.”
Alyssa Mercante on X
Mercante also celebrated Second Wind Editor-in-Chief’s Nick Calandra’s coordinated reporting campaign against YouTuber Smash JT. Calandra was able to briefly get Smash JT’s website and his Kotaku Detected web page shut down.
While it was shut down, Mercante celebrated, “Oop! Website not detected! Huge shoutout to Nick Calandra who reached out to Wix about this site and consistently followed up. Clearly they agree that he was engaging in targeted harassment, among other things.”
She added, “This is a great precedent, a great sign that there are people and places on the internet who know targeted harassment and cyberbullying when they see it!”
Alyssa Mercante on X
READ: Kotaku Senior Editor Alyssa Mercante Threatens Legal Action Against YouTuber Smash JT
However, she quickly changed her tune when Wix restored Smash JT’s website writing, “You can keep your website it helps me.”
Alyssa Mercante on X
As for the claim that people are not intentionally trying to make video games diverse. This is a flat out lie. There are numerous consultancy companies such as Sweet Baby Inc. whose primary goal is to diversify the video game industry.
Sweet Baby Inc.’s “About Us” section reads, “Our mission is to tell better, more empathetic stories while diversifying and enriching the video games industry. We aim to make games more engaging, more fun, more meaningful, and more inclusive, for everyone.”
Sweet Baby Inc. About Us section
READ: Sweet Baby Inc. CEO Kim Belair Admits She Wanted To Take Over The Video Game Industry
It’s not just consultancy groups likes Sweet Baby Inc. Major companies and developers are also forcing diversity. The biggest is Microsoft and its various subsidies such as Activision. Microsoft has an entire diversity framework that they invented in 2019 and recently made public for game developers to use to develop their games.
It’s called Gaming For Everyone’s Product Inclusion Framework and one of the demands is to “create & surface content that depicts diverse characters, stories and creators.”
A screenshot of Microsoft’s Product Inclusion Action: Help Customers Feel Seen
Diversity for all intents and purposes is racism against white people. In 2015, Emily Goldstein made this very clear in an article at Thought Catalog titled “Yes, Diversity Is About Getting Rid Of White People (And That’s A Good Thing).”
She wrote in the article, “One of the more common memes that I’ve seen white supremacists spread around recently has been ‘diversity is a code word for white genocide’. The concept here is that diversity is only promoted in white nations, and that the end goal is to eliminate white people altogether by flooding all white countries with non-white people until there are no white people left. Well, guess what, white supremacists? That’s exactly right. Diversity IS about getting rid of white people, and that’s a good thing.”
She even concludes the article writing, “So, yes, white supremacists: diversity is indeed white genocide. And white genocide is exactly what the world needs more than anything else.”
A screenshot of an article written by Emily Goldstein in Thought Catalog
As for her challenge to a fight, YouTuber Vara Dark accepted it after the video was posted. Dark wrote on X, “Can’t hit up this little b***h whose hiding behind a block so send me a DM and let’s talk match detail.”
She added, “Let’s do one better and lay it out publicly. Winner gets $1k, loser has to put up content publicly announcing their loss (an article from you, a video from me) and what, 3 months for a venue and train?”
Let’s do one better and lay it out publicly.
Winner gets $1k, loser has to put up content publicly announcing their loss (an article from you, a video from me) and what, 3 months for a venue and train?
— Vara Dark (@Vara_Dark) June 11, 2024
X user Mara Jade also accepted the fight and shared a number of 1st place Judo trophies as well.
Alyssa Mercante – “Come fight me. Physically. Bitch.”
Challenge accepted, sweetheart. https://t.co/kog37uDeDh pic.twitter.com/cP4ol09CsZ
— Mara Jade (@OG_MaraJade) June 10, 2024
What do you make of Mercante’s challenge and her comments?
