Ubisoft says it is cutting ties with Rainbow Six Siege streamer Thaqil and removing his streamer charm from the game as a result of a series of racist jokes he made on Tiktok about the Black operator Castle.
Thaqil made at least three videos on Tiktok targeting Castle (opens in new tab): A "Kiss, Marry, Avoid" in which he said he'd avoid Castle "because he's black," a "challenge" to name an operator based on the letter N in which he picked Castle, and one in which he looked meaningfully at a banana after being assigned to play Castle. The Tiktoks have since been deleted but are still accessible on Twitter (opens in new tab).
"Ubisoft does not tolerate any form of racism, bullying or harassment," Ubisoft told NME (opens in new tab). "We believe in providing positive and engaging entertainment experiences where everyone feels welcome, included and celebrated.
"Following an investigation, it has become clear that content creator Thaqil’s recent posts on social media are in breach of Ubisoft’s Code of Conduct. As a result, Thaqil will no longer be part of our content creators program and his charm will be removed from Rainbow Six Siege."
In an apology posted to Twitlonger (opens in new tab), Thaqil admitted that he "knew what [he] was doing" when he made the videos, but denied being intentionally racist.
"My main objective was to be edgy and make people laugh but I now realize that my attempt on humour may come across as insensitive and offensive, for that I am truly sorry," Thaqil wrote. "I don’t stand for racism or any discrimination of any kind. I have seen comments floating around that, despite defending me, I don’t stand by.
"I now understand that the content I make can reflect on the way that people treat other people and that it’s not okay to behave as such. It shouldn’t work like that but I now realise that is how it works and that I do have an influence on people."
I'm SorryRead: https://t.co/G9UzcmjwIfApril 12, 2023
Streamer charms in Rainbow Six Siege are released seasonally, and there are dozens of them (opens in new tab). A few are associated with big-name streamers like Shroud and AnneMunition, but the streamer charm program is open to any Twitch partner with at least 150 or more concurrent viewers, 10 Rainbow Six streams per month, and 20 hours of Rainbow Six streaming per month.
Program members must also maintain "positive standing with Ubisoft/Rainbow Six Siege," and, as the Siege code of conduct (opens in new tab) states, "Your actions have consequences."
"The purpose of our Code of Conduct and Terms of Use is to provide safe and welcoming communities for all, and any suspected breaches of these guidelines and rules will result in an investigation that could lead to sanctions," it reads. "Sanctions may vary depending on the severity, impact and/or frequency of breaches. We don’t enjoy taking this kind of action, but breaking the rules can negatively impact the community, and therefore we need to hold you accountable."
Unfortunately (but unsurprisingly), many of the replies to Thaqil's apology tweet are dismissive of the racism and defend his videos as just "jokes." Luckily, Ubisoft doesn't take crappy public opinions into account when it's making policy and enforcement decisions.
I've reached out to ask if Thaqil's charm removal is permanent or if he'll be allowed back into the program at some point in the future, and will update if I receive a reply.
