Fortnite introduced the concept of Icon Series skins inspired by real life celebrities in Chapter 1 during the infamous Marshmello Concert held in-game at Pleasant Park. A few of these skins are inspired by movies, celebrities or musical artists.
Unfortunately, due to some unprecedented circumstances, some skins are disliked in the community for events that take place in the real world.
Last weekend, at the 94th Academy Award ceremony, one such incident occurred which shook the entire world. Following these events, a certain celebrity, who was the accused, has their skin featured in Fortnite. Ever since then, the player base has shown their protest by canceling the skin.
Fortnite's Will Smith skin canceled by community following Oscars incident
Mike Lowrey, who is represented by Will Smith, was present in the Item Shop back in Chapter 2 Season 7. He was part of the Loose Cannon set and was inspired by the action comedy film franchise, Bad Boys.
However, the skin is currently facing some mixed reactions from the community following Will Smith's unfortunate actions against actor-comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars Ceremony last weekend.
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The event consisted of Will Smith showing physical aggression towards Chris Rock by slapping him on stage. The reason behind this was a joke made by Chris Rock about his wife's hair. As the couple found it offensive, Will Smith took the opportunity and made a haste decision.
It led to Chris Rock being shouted and cussed at by Smith.
Following the incident, the entire world and the Fortnite community have shown their protest towards Will's actions and were quick to show their support for Chris. Some of them want Will's skin removed altogether from the game.
However, several content creators and pros found the opportunity to create memes around the buzz in-game with the skin and entertain the masses. Although they intend to do it in good sport, the line between ethical and unethical messaging comes in the middle, where the player base remains divided.
Community still divided regarding Mike Lowery skin
The incident created a mixed reaction in the Fortnite community. Most players saw this as an opportunity to promote the Will Smith skin in Fortnite. Others created several memes and videos related to the incident that included a fun element of the game. Some loopers even speculated that the Will Smith skin Mike Lowrey may increase in price.
A proportion of the community sees this as an extreme act of violence by Will Smith. Loopers want their skin to be refunded and would not like to play or represent Mike Lowrey anymore on the Battle Royale Island.
It has been noted that Fortnite has given loopers the ability to return the skin. The same situation and response can be seen with the Travis Scott skin from the earlier days.
A screenshot from the video later inspired an image macro series in which people edit the name of the video. Images, gifs and videos featured seven times a day. Fortnite bad memes & gifs.
Edited by Saman
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