Mike Morhaime, CEO of Blizzard and member of the band who brought the offender onstage, personally apologized.
Yesterday, we reported an incident that took place at Blizzcon last weekend which upset many fans of World of Warcraft and gamers in general for its insensitivity. A video shown during a performance of company band Level 90 Epic Tauren Chieftain of death metal band Cannibal Corpse lead singer George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher calling for all “Night Elf faggots” to die incited both the gay rights community and WoW-players for anti-faction attitudes. On the forums of Blizzard’s community site, the band apologized saying that the content of the video wasn’t meant to be taken seriously, but saying the incident was “just a joke” only further enraged the community. Today, Mike Morhaime – President and CEO of Blizzard, as well as a member of Level 90 Epic Tauren Chieftain – issued a more heartfelt and personal apology.
Dear members of the Blizzard community,
I have read your feedback and comments about this year’s BlizzCon, and I have also read the feedback to the apology from Level 90 Elite Tauren Chieftain. I’d like to respond to some of your feedback here.
As president of Blizzard, I take full responsibility for everything that occurs at BlizzCon.
It was shortsighted and insensitive to use the video at all, even in censored form. The language used in the original version, including the slurs and use of sexual orientation as an insult, is not acceptable, period. We realize now that having even an edited version at the show was counter to the standards we try to maintain in our forums and in our games. Doing so was an error in judgment, and we regret it.
The bottom line is we deeply apologize for our mistakes and for hurting or offending anyone. We want you to have fun at our events, and we want everyone to feel welcome. We’re proud to be part of a huge and diverse community, and I am proud that so many aspects of the community are represented within Blizzard itself.
As a leader of Blizzard, and a member of the band, I truly hope you will accept my humblest apology.
– Mike Morhaime President, Blizzard Entertainment
I’m not going to say that clears everything up, but that is a pretty well-written apology. Morhaime takes responsibility, says he was wrong, and vows never to do something like that again.
This is not the first time that Blizzard has been accused of insensitivity, so I wonder how much the executives have really learned. Perhaps they need to hire someone to handle sensitivity training. I hear Glenn Beck is available.
Source: Blizzard
Published: Oct 28, 2011 07:06 pm