Fortnite's Nikki Skin Sparks Debate Among Horror Fans, With Some Calling for a Boycott
A vocal group of Fortnite players are calling for a boycott of Epic's battle royale game after a skin of Obsession’s Nikki Freeman, played by Inde Navarrette, sparked backlash among fans.
On October 20, Epic Games revealed that Nikki Freeman is coming to Fortnite in a special collaborative video with the character’s actress, Inde Navarrette. And while there’s no denying Obsession’s popularity — Nikki was one of the most-searched Halloween costumes on Google this year, after all — her inclusion as a purchasable skin in a video game is rubbing some fans the wrong way.
Warning: Major spoilers for Obsession below!
This uncomfortable reaction is in direct response to Nikki being the victim of Bear’s wish in Obsession. In the movie, Nikki’s body is overtaken by a malicious entity while the real Nikki is locked away in her own mind, unable to do anything but watch as the entity possessing her commits atrocities while wearing her skin.
Be careful what you wish for… Nikki is coming to Fortnite tomorrow https://t.co/iSY6eseqVX— Fortnite (@Fortnite) October 20, 2026
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Be careful what you wish for… Nikki is coming to Fortnite tomorrow https://t.co/iSY6eseqVX
She is also taken advantage of by Bear, who engages in intimacy with Nikki’s physical form without getting the consent of the real Nikki. (Bear becomes aware of this fact in the film, but decides against trying to save her, asking, ‘What’s so bad about being with me?’ to which Nikki replies, ‘I’ve never been with you, Bear.’)
Needless to say, making Nikki — who is a victim of rape — a playable character in a video game isn’t exactly being met with positivity from some folks in Fortnite’s playerbase. That’s not including her special emote, which sees her hold up Wiley E. Coyote-style signs reenacting the famous dinner scene where she flips out on Bear, or the skin’s recreation of her iconic frown.
“Wanting your rape victim character in a game as a fun element (ironically Nikki suffers from has no control on her body and mind in movie) is a f**king choice,” one user wrote on Twitter/X. “Also, f**k Fortnite too for this choice.”
“I kind of hate how Nikki was turned into a meme like this. It kinda overshadows the actual horrific s**t her character actually went through in the movie, in my opinion,” another said.
“So, lemme [make] this make sense: Fortnite is using a character who has a narrative about loss of coercion, loss of consent, psychological torment, and tragic violence for entertainment purposes? Fortnite monopolizing on obsession gives me the ick. I'm grossed out,” another argued.
A viral post, which has since been deleted, even called for a boycott of Fortnite altogether due to the skin — but another segment of the game's playerbase isn't on board with this idea, with several arguing that Nikki is merely a fictional character and that her Fortnite skin “isn’t that deep.”
“There’s obviously heated discussion surrounding Nikki being put into Fortnite, but I don't really get how the character [being] integrated into [the] game = not taking her story seriously. Most people BUY these things BECAUSE they care about a character, it's usually not for a punchline,” one said.
“Let’s please not try to reduce Nikki to just another ‘victim,’” another asked. “Yes, her story is horrific and tragic, but that does NOT mean we shouldn’t allow for her to appear in multi-media regardless of quality.”
“People have such a hard time comprehending that Nikki isn’t a real person and that she’s a fictional character,” yet another posed.
This isn’t the first time Nikki’s inclusion in other events an IPs has sparked a debate; she was also featured as a wandering character at Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights, which sparked its own discourse in the horror scene as to whether or not this was actually ethical (not to mention concerns about the actors’ safety). Indie Navarrette, for her part, seems to have no issue with the whole thing, even posing with one of the character's actors for a photo while visiting the theme park this October.