Call of Duty streamer Censor apologises for using homophobic slur during livestream
Streamer and professional Call of Duty player Doug “Censor” Martin has apologised after being recorded using a homophobic slur while playing live against a teammate.
While streaming a game of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on Tuesday (17 October), Censor got into a heated exchange with a teammate, berating them about their playing ability and telling them that they should unfollow him on social media, according to Dexerto.
However the small confrontation escalated when Censor told teammate they “suck d**k” before branding them a “f****t”.
The 29-year-old US-based gamer, who plays competitively for Boston Academy, was quick to offer an apology for his use of the derogatory word.
Posting a 90-second video on X, formerly Twitter, Censor admitted that he wouldn’t “sleep well” if he didn’t address the comment.
“I know that if I don’t do this now, it’s going to be worse than it already is,” he said, before admitting that he “slipped up”.
“I said a word I shouldn’t have said. I let someone get under my skin, and I said the f-word. I’m not proud about it, I’m not happy about it, I’m more than definitely disappointed in myself about it, because… it’s absolutely not something that I stand for or something that I say in my private life,” he said.
“I did say it right here in my public life… I cringed when I did it because I knew it was wrong.”
The content creator, who has almost two and a half million subscribers on YouTube and 283,000 subscribers on Twitch, acknowledged that his public profile may lead to others thinking they can use the homophobic word.
“I’m upset because people are going to see this thing and they’re going to think that they can do this too because I did it, and that’s not OK,” he explained.
“I have to hold myself accountable. The only thing I can do is apologise.”
While some of Censor’s fans have suggested he shouldn’t have apologised, many have praised him for taking accountability and attempting to make amends.
“You set a great example for the next generation. Keep your head up. Mistakes happen,” wrote one social media user.
“I actually appreciate this genuine accountability and apology from Censor,” wrote a second, while a third added: “Honestly this is how all apologies should go.”
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