Obsession Fans Are Unhappy With Nikki Freeman’s Fortnite Skin

Actress Inde Navarrette snapped a One Wish Willow in half and wished aloud that her Obsession character, Nikki Freeman, would show up in Fortnite. The monkey’s paw promptly curled. Nikki is now an official Fortnite skin. But as Obsession warns, a wish can come back to haunt you. The new cosmetic has set off an unexpected dispute within the community and fueled plenty of heated social media debates.

Obsession centers on Bear, a shop clerk who is hopelessly infatuated with his friend Nikki. While hunting for a gift at a crystal shop, he finds an odd trinket called the One Wish Willow. Snap the enchanted twig and any wish comes true. Bear wishes that Nikki would love him above everything else in the world. She immediately becomes fixated on him, and what follows is a downward spiral of chaos and carnage.

Nikki’s erratic behavior makes her seem unsettling on screen, but the film makes it clear that she is a victim. The real Nikki is trapped inside her own body, which the Willow’s magic has bent to its will. The spell forces her into a romantic and sexual relationship with Bear.

The film’s eerie mood, jump scares, and dark themes mean it is often labeled a horror movie. That explains why Fortnite teamed up with it for Fortnitemares, the game’s yearly Halloween event. The collaboration brings a One Wish Willow sprite and a Nikki Freeman cosmetic bundle, and both have become a lightning rod for debate among fans.

When does a Fortnite skin collab cross the line?

Nikki is arguably the victim of her own horror story, yet she joins the Halloween lineup beside figures like Freddy Krueger and Slender Man. Some Obsession fans are unhappy about it. They feel the skin trivializes the trauma of a woman imprisoned in her own body. Others in the community disagree. They see it as empowering for her to be chosen as a featured character, especially given how many predators and killers already exist as Fortnite skins.

Those fans have a point. Many Fortnite skins depict villains, from Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger to Ghostface, and none of them drew this much controversy. Nikki also isn’t the only skin based on a victim. The Five Nights at Freddy’s skins are another example, since the animatronics are possessed by murdered children seeking revenge on the adults who harmed them.

Some players argue that if every character’s backstory were scrutinized for trauma or flaws, half of Fortnite‘s collaborations would never have happened. That would include fan favorites like Anakin Skywalker and Beatrix Kiddo. It will be interesting to see whether the film’s director or cast respond to the backlash, particularly Navarrette, who helped promote the skin.

Source: Polygon