<p><img src="/gcdn/authoring/authoring-images/2025/01/16/USAT/77735306007-call-of-duty-1-14-2025-11-57-37-pm.png?crop=1635,919,x284,y0&width=660&height=371&format=pjpg&auto=webp" width="100%" /><p>I have never really understood all the anger Republicans have focused on the LGBTQ+ community or the fascination with oppressing transgender people. You would think they would focus on stuff that might make people's lives better.</p><p>But here we are. That hate and rush to dismiss anything different is so engrained in conservative dogma that it's reached the video game industry and is quickly taking hold. It would appear that gamers accustomed to playing as elves, ogres and all manner of creatures have suddenly decided people of color and LGBTQ+ characters are <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2024/08/28/the-woke-war-why-the-right-believes-its-dominated-gaming-and-tv-in-2024/">now to be hated as "woke."</a></p><p>With all that disappointment in my fellow gamers in mind, I decided to reach out to the person who modeled and acted for the <a href="https://www.thegamer.com/call-of-duty-black-ops-6-introduces-first-non-binary-operator-volta-rossi/">first nonbinary character in the Call of Duty series</a>, arguably the biggest franchise in the largest entertainment industry in the world. The estimated <a href="https://www.statista.com/topics/868/video-games/#topicOverview">global gaming revenue</a> last year is expected to be almost $500 billion. By comparison, the <a href="https://www.statista.com/outlook/amo/media/cinema/worldwide">global cinema industry</a> is expected to hit $86 billion in 2025.</p><img width="100%" /><p>So, meet Kimber London, the California actor who is the model for the character Volta Rossi. The character became available once <a href="https://variety.com/2024/gaming/news/call-of-duty-black-ops-6-sales-players-opening-weekend-1236195626/">Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 launched in October</a>. Call of Duty players can use Rossi for online play after first unlocking the character by ranking up.</p><p>I spoke with London about what this moment in gaming means for them, the LGBTQ+ community and the haters, <a href="https://www.thepinknews.com/2024/10/30/call-of-duty-black-ops-6-transphobic-backlash/">whom they have addressed directly online</a>.</p><p>We talked a week before <a href="/story/news/politics/elections/2025/01/20/donald-trump-sworn-in-as-47-president-inauguration/77755765007/">President Donald Trump was inaugurated</a> and news of his <a href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/01/20/donald-trump-inauguration-day-news-updates-analysis/trump-removes-nonbinary-gender-00199264">intention to target transgender and nonbinary people</a> broke. Obviously, that's a ridiculous thing for a president to be obsessed about. But it does mean that people like London are about to get more of that hate Republicans seem to revel in.</p><p>Here are my questions and London's answers:</p><h2>What was it like to finally see yourself in Call of Duty?</h2><img width="100%" /><p>I don't think I was really prepared for how cool it was going to be. I started filming this two years ago, so it was kind of something that was just going to show up at some point and then all of a sudden at the end of October 2024, it's here.</p><p>I made the mistake of going on X to see the reactions when it kind of got leaked a couple of days before the launch, and I saw the character, and people were saying how ugly it is and all these very transphobic and homophobic remarks about the character and how "woke" the game was.</p><p>So I initially thought, "Wow, this is not going to go the way I thought it was at all." I did anticipate there was going to be backlash. I just wasn't prepared.</p><h2>What about the backlash surprised you, given you were expecting it?</h2><p>I was ready for it on the level of backlash against being nonbinary. I wasn't ready for the personal attacks on how my character looked.</p><p>So there were comparisons of the character looking like Quasimodo or Sloth from "Goonies" or some of those disabled characters, which, that was another thing that really bothered me – the ableism going on, you know? Quasimodo has a heart of gold.</p><p><strong>Opinion:</strong><a href="/story/opinion/columnist/2024/12/12/north-carolina-trans-healthcare-supreme-court/76860654007/">Gender-affirming care is proven to help trans kids. This doctor explains why.</a></p><p>These are wonderful characters, but the visual comparisons, obviously they're not the most physically beautiful according to our standards of beauty. So that was, that was a little rough, but it also gave me a taste of what a lot of people deal with online when it comes to bullying on physical features and everything.</p><h2>You've talked about messages of support. What was that like?</h2><p>It was really encouraging to see how many queer gamers there are out there and just how many allied gamers there are as well who are like, "We don't really care that, you know, we like the fact there's more diversity in games."</p><p>I think that's great. It's a very positive thing. So, like I said, the toxic fan base isn't the whole fan base, and I think that's really important to be aware of because there's a whole other side of the fan base. It was beautiful to see so many people commenting and saying how much the character meant to them, how they love to main the character and to be able to shine the light on this side of the fan base that is really passionate and loves the game.</p><h2>What are your thoughts on the ongoing conversation about gender?</h2><p>If you're somewhat informed at all, you know that LGBTQ+ folks, trans, nonbinary individuals are the current scapegoat, um, for a particular party, and that is something that is by design, and I think it's very much meant to be a unifying talking point, which is a tragic thing.</p><img width="100%" /><p>But it also strategically makes sense for people who have nothing else to bring to the table. If that's what you're resorting to, picking on a minority group and unifying around that, I think that should be very illuminating.</p><p>I've dealt with it in my everyday life. I'm a bit numb to it, but I do recognize that many people aren't, and it's very shocking and it's very awful to see these things being perpetuated, especially on a legislative level, because nobody deserves to go through having their rights stripped away.</p><h2>What message do you have for children experiencing the hate?</h2><p>Our LGBTQ2IA+ youth are seeing all this legislation being passed. They're aware of what's going on online.</p><p>They're aware of people who are now emboldened to make more statements against their identities and who they are and it can be a scary time for them. So I think it's important to show them that there is hope and there's light at the end of the tunnel and that we are not going to back down from this.</p><p><strong>Opinion:</strong><a href="/story/opinion/voices/2024/12/03/supreme-court-transgender-healthcare-us-skrmetti/76595656007/">My daughter is trans. Supreme Court must protect health care for kids like her.</a></p><p>They have a supportive community. There are influencers out there who are gonna take a stand for this kind of thing, create safe spaces online, and continue to be that light and the leadership that they can look up to.</p><h2>What's your message for parents? 'Why would you want to be your child's first bully?'</h2><p>I would say first and foremost, listen to your child, you know, to the extent that you can believe them. Why would you want to be your child's first bully?</p><p>You know, why would you want to be that? If your first reaction is to say, "I'm cutting you off, you know, you can't be this way," force them to be someone they're not, it's only gonna push them away from you, and that's gonna be a lifelong separation that is going to be very difficult to mend.</p><img width="100%" /><p>So even if the parent doesn't necessarily agree or think that this is something that's right for their child, your child is going through this. So regardless of what you think about it, they're going through it. So I think first and foremost, it's important to listen and to be that listening ear.</p><p>If your child doesn't feel like they can come to you ... like all these rules in schools, like, oh, the counselors have to tell the parents about these things ... maybe you should be asking why you're not the kind of parent that your kid wants to talk to about those sort of things.</p><p>Louie Villalobos is the director of Opinion for Gannett. You might find him playing Call of Duty's Warzone as a nonbinary character because imagine being a snowflake about something like that.</p></p>
I have never really understood all the anger Republicans have focused on the LGBTQ+ community or the fascination with oppressing transgender people. You would think they would focus on stuff that might make people's lives better.
But here we are. That hate and rush to dismiss anything different is so engrained in conservative dogma that it's reached the video game industry and is quickly taking hold. It would appear that gamers accustomed to playing as elves, ogres and all manner of creatures have suddenly decided people of color and LGBTQ+ characters are now to be hated as "woke."
With all that disappointment in my fellow gamers in mind, I decided to reach out to the person who modeled and acted for the first nonbinary character in the Call of Duty series, arguably the biggest franchise in the largest entertainment industry in the world. The estimated global gaming revenue last year is expected to be almost $500 billion. By comparison, the global cinema industry is expected to hit $86 billion in 2025.
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So, meet Kimber London, the California actor who is the model for the character Volta Rossi. The character became available once Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 launched in October. Call of Duty players can use Rossi for online play after first unlocking the character by ranking up.
I spoke with London about what this moment in gaming means for them, the LGBTQ+ community and the haters, whom they have addressed directly online.
We talked a week before President Donald Trump was inaugurated and news of his intention to target transgender and nonbinary people broke. Obviously, that's a ridiculous thing for a president to be obsessed about. But it does mean that people like London are about to get more of that hate Republicans seem to revel in.
Here are my questions and London's answers:
What was it like to finally see yourself in Call of Duty?
![]()
I don't think I was really prepared for how cool it was going to be. I started filming this two years ago, so it was kind of something that was just going to show up at some point and then all of a sudden at the end of October 2024, it's here.
I made the mistake of going on X to see the reactions when it kind of got leaked a couple of days before the launch, and I saw the character, and people were saying how ugly it is and all these very transphobic and homophobic remarks about the character and how "woke" the game was.
So I initially thought, "Wow, this is not going to go the way I thought it was at all." I did anticipate there was going to be backlash. I just wasn't prepared.
What about the backlash surprised you, given you were expecting it?
I was ready for it on the level of backlash against being nonbinary. I wasn't ready for the personal attacks on how my character looked.
So there were comparisons of the character looking like Quasimodo or Sloth from "Goonies" or some of those disabled characters, which, that was another thing that really bothered me – the ableism going on, you know? Quasimodo has a heart of gold.
Opinion:Gender-affirming care is proven to help trans kids. This doctor explains why.
These are wonderful characters, but the visual comparisons, obviously they're not the most physically beautiful according to our standards of beauty. So that was, that was a little rough, but it also gave me a taste of what a lot of people deal with online when it comes to bullying on physical features and everything.
You've talked about messages of support. What was that like?
It was really encouraging to see how many queer gamers there are out there and just how many allied gamers there are as well who are like, "We don't really care that, you know, we like the fact there's more diversity in games."
I think that's great. It's a very positive thing. So, like I said, the toxic fan base isn't the whole fan base, and I think that's really important to be aware of because there's a whole other side of the fan base. It was beautiful to see so many people commenting and saying how much the character meant to them, how they love to main the character and to be able to shine the light on this side of the fan base that is really passionate and loves the game.
What are your thoughts on the ongoing conversation about gender?
If you're somewhat informed at all, you know that LGBTQ+ folks, trans, nonbinary individuals are the current scapegoat, um, for a particular party, and that is something that is by design, and I think it's very much meant to be a unifying talking point, which is a tragic thing.
![]()
But it also strategically makes sense for people who have nothing else to bring to the table. If that's what you're resorting to, picking on a minority group and unifying around that, I think that should be very illuminating.
I've dealt with it in my everyday life. I'm a bit numb to it, but I do recognize that many people aren't, and it's very shocking and it's very awful to see these things being perpetuated, especially on a legislative level, because nobody deserves to go through having their rights stripped away.
What message do you have for children experiencing the hate?
Our LGBTQ2IA+ youth are seeing all this legislation being passed. They're aware of what's going on online.
They're aware of people who are now emboldened to make more statements against their identities and who they are and it can be a scary time for them. So I think it's important to show them that there is hope and there's light at the end of the tunnel and that we are not going to back down from this.
Opinion:My daughter is trans. Supreme Court must protect health care for kids like her.
They have a supportive community. There are influencers out there who are gonna take a stand for this kind of thing, create safe spaces online, and continue to be that light and the leadership that they can look up to.
What's your message for parents? 'Why would you want to be your child's first bully?'
I would say first and foremost, listen to your child, you know, to the extent that you can believe them. Why would you want to be your child's first bully?
You know, why would you want to be that? If your first reaction is to say, "I'm cutting you off, you know, you can't be this way," force them to be someone they're not, it's only gonna push them away from you, and that's gonna be a lifelong separation that is going to be very difficult to mend.
![]()
So even if the parent doesn't necessarily agree or think that this is something that's right for their child, your child is going through this. So regardless of what you think about it, they're going through it. So I think first and foremost, it's important to listen and to be that listening ear.
If your child doesn't feel like they can come to you ... like all these rules in schools, like, oh, the counselors have to tell the parents about these things ... maybe you should be asking why you're not the kind of parent that your kid wants to talk to about those sort of things.
Louie Villalobos is the director of Opinion for Gannett. You might find him playing Call of Duty's Warzone as a nonbinary character because imagine being a snowflake about something like that.
