Kotaku Senior Editor Alyssa Mercante is attempting to explain why she’s refusing to fight anyone after being the one to issue a challenge to fight.
Alyssa Mercante on X
During an appearance on Giant Bomb, Mercante issued her challenge stating, “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.”
READ: Kotaku Senior Editor Alyssa Mercante Challenges YouTubers To Fight, Vara Dark Accepts
The challenge was accepted by a number of individuals including YouTuber Vara Dark who posted, “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
YouTuber Mara Jade simply wrote, “Challenge accepted, sweetheart” while sharing three trophies for first place in Judo competitions.
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
La Reina Creole also wrote, “As Miss Alyssa has me blocked I guess she won’t accept a fight from a black woman. I’m still down for that throwdown. Come at me, you racist heffa.”
As Miss Alyssa has me blocked I guess she won’t accept a fight from a black woman. I’m still down for that throwdown. Come at me, you racist heffa. https://t.co/oWgiJzDbCq
— La Reina🇺🇸Creole🇩🇴🇯🇲🇵🇷🇹🇹🇨🇺🇭🇹🇲🇽🇨🇴 (@LaReinaCreole) June 11, 2024
Mercante initially attempted to entertain Dark’s challenge albeit she began putting her own stipulations on the fight. She wrote, “No prize money. Charity only. You can’t stream it for your bigot viewers.”
Alyssa Mercante on X
However, she quickly made it clear she had no intention of fighting anyone when Daniel M. Keem, who runs Happy Punch Promotions, a company that organizes and promotes influencer boxing, approached both Mercante and Dark to set up a match, Mercante made it clear she had no interest in backing up her words.
Keemstar posted, “Dear Alyssa Mercante and Vara Dark! HappyPunch will help you set up your fight!” Mercante promptly replied, “Not giving you any money, thanks!”
Alyssa Mercante on X
She would double down on this excuse multiple times. She wrote, “You would earn money from this, and I dislike you.”
Alyssa Mercante on X
She then followed that up writing, “So the promotion, the refereeing, the security, how do you pay for that? Who earns money from the ticket sales? If all the proceeds from this event go to approved charities, that’s a different story. But no morally corrupt person is making money off of me, hope that’s clear.”
Alyssa Mercante on X
Mercante continued to try and position herself as some kind of moral person when her actions have clearly shown that to not be the case. Nevertheless, she wrote, “I’m not a YouTube rage peddler. Vara has already been using me to make money and get views, she’s not doing it for this. If you want to box, box for a cause, not to further boost your disgusting little corner of the internet. And no, another one of your rage peddlers can’t host it either. I’ll fight her in a gym anywhere. This isn’t about clout it’s about what’s right. I’d cross that girl up faster than she can make a thumbnail with my latest selfie.”
She added, “This was always just another way for her to farm engagement, as proven by the fact that she NEVER RESPONDED TO MY DM. She’s soft!”
Alyssa Mercante on X
Mercante doubled down on this in response to coverage from this author in a previous article on That Park Place.
She wrote, “My face, my likeness, my words, my posts, have been making grifters like you and Vara money for months. I will not help contribute to that with a fight that she can stream and earn money off of, as I won’t make any money from it.”
She added, “Charity only. She would not agree to it. I made it clear that this is about what I believe in, and I don’t need cameras to box her. She then said I was trying to illegally street fight her. She never responded to my last DM, which I posted in a reply to her and on my own page.”
Mercante then snarked, “Go back to reviewing Epcot bathrooms or whatever it is that you did before the grift.
Alyssa Mercante on X
READ: Kotaku Senior Editor Alyssa Mercante Threatens Legal Action Against YouTuber Smash JT
This is similar to what Mercante DM’d to Dark, which Dark shared to X on June 12th. She wrote, “You make money off of clout chasing and rage baiting, why would I allow you to do that with this? Charitable causes only, ticket sales included. I’m not scared of you, Vara. Not in the slightest, babe.”
Mercante continued, “And I *block* you and others of your ilk because you use all of my social media posts as content for your videos, so that’s just a little hurdle I like to make you have to jump over, if you can manage with out pulling something :)”
“Keemstar makes money off of promoting boxing matches, and he’s also a piece of s**t just like you,” she wrote. Would you agree to me letting Hasan host it? Be so for real, No one makes money off of this. Charity. Only. You’ll have to get your ass beat for free, sorry love.”
Alyssa Mercante on X
Dark responded, “If you had actually been serious I would’ve said cut that s**t straight down the middle. You can get content creators you like to film, I’d get mine, you can have your sponsors I can have mine, you can donate to a trans charity and I could donate to one of my choice but I’m over your back and forth bulls**t, Alyssa. I don’t play this game of blocking and unblocking people I don’t like. I have no people blocked for a reason. If you’re gonna talk about me on a public platform, don’t hide from me and that’s your game I luckily don’t have to play.”
She concluded, “You had a chance at a professional level event being set up and said no INSTANTLY. You rejected my stipulations from the start because you didn’t want me streaming it to my ‘bigot viewers’. You then said you’re a busy gal working. Get back to writing game guides then because ‘working your hardest’ isn’t getting you far. I put up more content in a week than you put up in a month.”
My last response to Alyssa. 👍 pic.twitter.com/FSX6ESLCOj
— Vara Dark (@Vara_Dark) June 12, 2024
