Activision has ceased its relationship with Call of Duty actor Jeff Leach after a video resurfaced online showing him making a series of sexist remarks towards women and non-binary gamers.
The video came from YouTuber NitroLukeDX, who posted it to Twitter showing some of these moments Leach had behaved inappropriately over the last couple of years.
Leach, who played Ghost in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Mobile, was recorded saying sexist remarks about Twitch streamer The Zombi Unicorn during a live TwinGalaxies show while also making the other people he was recording with visibly uncomfortable. The video then shows him making explicit sexual comments towards female players in a round of Call of Duty: Warzone.
The comments are explicit, so we won’t be sharing them here on AppSpy but you can see NitroLukeDX’s tweets about the incidents below.
[1/3] Jeff Leach Misogynist?!
— NitroLukeDX (@NitroLukeDX) May 7, 2021
@FacebookGaming Partner, Voice of @CallofDuty "Ghost" @Activision
Serious personalised intrusive sexism. Influence. Contempt. Violence! Serial offender! @TheZombiUnicorn
Watch the clip RT! Respect Women! #GameOver4Sexism pic.twitter.com/jtNj3xy5sN
Following the spread of this tweet, Call of Duty news site Charlie INTEL reached out to Activision for comment, who confirmed that it had parted ways with Leach as a result.
“Sexism has no place in our industry, our games or in society,” Activision said in a statement given to Charlie INTEL. “Activision is no longer working with Jeff Leach. We strongly condemn these remarks. We are committed to delivering a fun and safe experience for all players.”
Whether this means Activision will go back and replace Ghost’s original voice lines with a new cast member or remove him entirely from the game is yet to be seen. Due to the popularity of the character and the open possibility of a Modern Warfare sequel, it is likely Activision will recast the character with a new actor.
