Fortnite Celebrates Pride Month Amid Controversy Over Creator’s Past Homophobic Slur

While some titles, like Overwatch, are embracing Pride Month with themed skins and events, Fortnite has taken a different approach this June by introducing a VTuber known for using homophobic slurs during streams as a sidekick.

The Burnt Peanut, a streamer who dons a peanut VTuber avatar, is recognized for playing games such as Arc Raiders and Marathon. He has gained millions of followers across platforms like Twitch, Instagram, and YouTube. His content includes a segment called “Slur Saturday,” where he went viral for expressing frustration in Arc Raiders, leading him to use a slur, which he later bleeped out. Notably, he has also used the f-slur during an Escape from Tarkov stream without any censorship. Content warning for slurs applies here.

The decision to include this streamer in Fortnite has sparked backlash from the community, with many sharing the Tarkov clip with Epic Games employees. As expected, some are downplaying the controversy, invoking the “Call of Duty lobby” defense, which suggests that online gaming is a space where anything goes.

“I genuinely don’t understand how this happened,” a user on a forum remarked. “Did no one even bother to do a background check here?”

In the past, The Burnt Peanut has warned viewers about the potential for inappropriate language while playing games like Arc Raiders, where proximity chat allows players to hear each other’s comments, which may include offensive language. He has even apologized to viewers for hearing such language from others during his streams, but his own use of derogatory terms remains fresh in the minds of some Fortnite fans.

Despite the controversy surrounding his language, The Burnt Peanut has participated in promotional deals with games like Marathon and won the Best VTuber award at the Streamer Awards in December. It remains unclear whether Epic Games was unaware of his history or simply indifferent due to his large following. The company has been contacted for comment on the situation, and updates will follow if a response is received.