Nintendo fans in uproar after beloved character canceled, but for a very good reason

Nintendo has just unveiled Mario Kart World, the barnstorming new instalment of the greatest kart racing franchise of all time. All your Nintendo favorites are back behind the wheel, with drivers ranging from mainstays like Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Bowser right the way down to D-listers like Cataquack. Biddybud, Pokey, and Peepa.

But there’s one name not on this list, and fans are dismayed. While Donkey Kong is back in action, his beloved best friend is missing in action. Yup, Diddy Kong, who’s featured in the Donkey Kong Country series, Smash Bros., and multiple Mario Karts is apparently not joining the roster. Nor, it appears, will he be appearing in the upcoming Donkey Kong: Bananza.

Now, I’m sure many of you may have already twigged why Nintendo might have put Diddy Kong on the back burner for a while. After all, the real-world headlines are still dominated by the heroic and cheery ape’s hip-hop namesake of the same name, and not for good reasons.

Diddy (the rapper, not the Kong) is currently detained at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center awaiting trial for trafficking and racketeering, after horrific allegations of historic abuse and violent behavior finally came to light. Diddy’s trial is set to begin on May 5, and will likely still be dominating headlines a month later, when the game hits shelves.

As this is a family-friendly online game, you can imagine the potential drama if a parent overhears their 8-year-old participating in the Switch 2’s GameChat feature and yelling “Diddy just hit me from behind with a red shell!”.

All of this is extremely unfair to Diddy (the Kong, not the rapper), whose sole crime is sharing the same name as hip-hop’s greatest monster. In fact, the ape even has a better claim to the name Diddy, as he debuted in 1994’s Donkey Kong Country while the rapper didn’t assume the stage name until 2001. And, as such, Diddy (Kong) fans are in uproar:

Nnitendo's PR team when they have to kill Diddy Kong pic.twitter.com/glEJtt8cL8

— Transfem Klonoa of the Wind✝️ (@TransfemKlonoa) April 3, 2025

they gotta change his name bro 💔💔

— lao (@lao140) April 4, 2025

I unironically think they are making him dissapear from public eye because of the unfortunate name

— Mayo neighs (@Venomase1) April 3, 2025

There’s even a #FreeDiddy hashtag that’s been trending ever since the suspicions rose that the baseball cap-wearing simian scamp has been sidelined. While I personally am supportive of Diddy (THE KONG), there’s no way I’m going to use that hashtag on my own timeline.

For now, I can understand why Nintendo has sent Diddy Kong to a nice banana farm upstate where he can be at peace. Maybe one day he will return: why not give him a couple of cute ape kids and rebrand him as “Daddy Kong?”. But, for now, he’s way too toxic, so don’t expect to see Diddy hosting any wild banana-fuelled parties in Nintendo games anytime soon.