Call of Duty developer Activision has announced that the company has cut ties with Ghost voice actor Jeff Leach. Ghost is one of the most iconic characters in the Call of Duty franchise, appearing as a main character in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2Â and as a playable operator in Modern Warfare and Warzone. Leach signed on to become the voice of Ghost when Modern Warfare rebooted in 2019, but it looks like it will be Leach's last project at Activision.
Activision announced its break from Leach after sexist and hateful comments resurfaced from the voice actor. In 2017, Twitch streamer ZombiUnicorn turned down an offer to appear on a talk show where Leach would also be a guest. ZombiUnicorn was still mentioned in the show, with Leach making horrendous comments about the streamer's body. His comments earned him a Twitch ban in 2017, but now more comments made by the voice actor are being shared.
A clip believed to be from a December 2020 Call of Duty: Warzone stream by Leach has surfaced online, which features the voice actor spewing sexist comments and threatening a viewer. After the video surfaced online, ZombiUnicorn called for Activision and Facebook Gaming to take action against the voice actor.
Activision then issued the following statement: "Sexism has no place in our industry, our games or in society. 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."
Despite Activision taking quick action to denounce Leach's comments, the voice actor remains a partnered streamer on Facebook. Yesterday, ZombiUnicorn applauded the actions by Activision and referenced Facebook Gaming, saying, "we're still waiting on your response to allowing hate and prejudice to reign free on your platform." This is not the first time that Facebook has been accused of letting racism, hate, and prejudice circulate on the social media platform. In 2020, PlayStation suspended advertising on Facebook as part of a campaign organized by the Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP, and other non-profits to hold Facebook accountable for allowing hate speech on the platform.
Facebook has yet to take action or comment on its partnership with Leach. The voice actor recently streamed Escape on Tarkov yesterday on Facebook Gaming. The ex-Ghost voice actor still has a profile picture depicting half of his face with the other half being a Ghost mask and still uses a Ghost animation in his stream, so it will be interesting to see if Activision takes action against Leach using the character.
Leach defended his actions on Twitter, claiming to be mocking a troll and defending his community. Leach also claimed to not condone threatening messages, despite the voice actor threatening a viewer in the clip. Leach maintains that his comments were not sexist and not a "gender-related issue", despite Leach again, making hateful comments about a woman's body. ZombiUnicorn will hopefully continue to push Facebook Gaming to take action against Leach and hold people accountable for the comments they make.
The clip of Leach's comments can be viewed here, but contains extremely NSFW language.