A gamer who says she has mixed-race heritage was allegedly denied entry to a U.S.-based Call of Duty tournament curated for Black women because its organizer thought she “presents as white.”
The 25-year-old British Twitch streamer, who is known as Becky Joo to her 62,000 followers, said she tried to sign up for the competition hosted by the group, Black Women in Call of Duty.
However, the gamer’s hopes of taking home a cash prize were crushed after the event’s organizer, known as Tommii Michelle, said she didn’t fit the entry criteria.
“She don't have to think about her race as a potential disadvantage or source of discrimination,” Michelle, an Atlanta, Georgia resident, allegedly wrote in a screenshot shared by Joo to X on Saturday. “It's not fair but our world is structured in a way that benefits ppl that look like her and not like me. So no she is not allowed.”
Alongside the screenshot, Joo shared her disdain about being barred from the event despite her Caribbean heritage and allegedly sending photographs of her family as evidence.
“Having to ‘prove’ if i am black ‘enough’ and then being told im not black enough to play a tourney that is for ‘Black Presenting Women’ is insane,” she said. “After sending FAMILY PICTURES btw.. what’s next my birth certificate validating this? which states ‘Mixed White & Black Carribean’ on too, btw.”
Joo said she was disgusted by Michelle’s comments, claiming she was experiencing a similar form of prejudice the group was meant to stand against.
“Growing up as a mixed race individual was not easy. always feeling like we didn’t fit in. and i think this today is proof of that,” she added.
In another X post on Sunday, Joo again shared her dismay for feeling like she didn’t fit in, despite her dad allegedly “being 100% black” and mom being “100% white.”
With one social media user claiming Joo was a “biracial woman who clearly presents as White,” along with sharing a photograph of her perched on a bed and chair, the gamer sarcastically replied: “Someone let me know how I’m ‘presenting myself as White’ here? Did I sit wrong?”
i cannot believe this 🤣🤣🤣 i’m done with brain dead twitter
— BeckyJoo (@beckyjoo_) February 23, 2025
I LIED GUYS IM NOT HALF BLACK!!! YOU CAUGHT ME!! SOMEONE LET ME KNOW HOW IM “PRESENTING MYSELF AS WHITE” HERE? did i sit wrong???? https://t.co/UIhOPxFxf5
Other X users spoke in Joo’s defense over the weekend, with one person writing: “Claiming to be black? She is black **** u talking about?”
Another added: “Black is black at the end of the day whether you’re fully black, half black, quarter black etc.”
The Independent has contacted Joo and Michelle for more information.
Michelle, who ran the group’s tournament, took to Twitch on Monday to explain her reasoning for not allowing Joo to participate.
She said after attempting to message Joo on the instant messaging platform Discord on Friday stating the tournament was only for Black women, the gamer didn’t respond.
“Maybe she just doesn’t know it’s a Black tourney? Because looking at the girl, I know I’m not crazy, and I feel like I’m being gaslit. But looking at the girl, looking at her profile, when I say I went to everybody’s profile for the tournament… just to verify they were Black,” Michelle said.
“There were biracial women in the tourney, there’s not a biracial issue at all, and I’m not going to keep beating this dead horse because I feel like it’s being done on Twitter. And if you cannot comprehend what the f*** I mean when I say Black, then that’s your problem.”
Black Women in Call of Duty was formed in October 2023 to offer a space for Black gamers, and has more than 140 female members consisting of women that are African American, African, Caribbean, Afro-Latina, and multiracial, according to one of its co-founders, known online only as AllGoldQueen.
“Being black in gaming, let alone, a black woman, is such a tough space to navigate when there is racism in every corner,” she tweeted following the uproar on Sunday.
Those looking to sign up to the group have to answer questions including, “As a black woman, how does it feel to be in a marginalized community?” and “What are ways you stand up for the black community in your stream?”
