Blizzard President Apologizes for Hateful Blizzcon Video

Greg Tito

PR for Dungeons & Dragons
Sep 29, 2005
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Blizzard President Apologizes for Hateful Blizzcon Video



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 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/113857-Gamers-Upset-at-Blizzcons-Slur-Ridden-Speech] 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 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/55729-What-Belongs-in-the-Game], 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 [http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/3424798330]

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Feb 13, 2008
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Greg Tito said:
Perhaps they need to hire someone to handle sensitivity training. I hear Glenn Beck is available.
Zing!

Maybe they can get Grainger Games [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/113875-Drunken-Condom-Flicking-Mars-U-K-Games-Awards]. I hear they're good with awards ceremonies.
 

mattaui

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Oct 16, 2008
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It was wise of them to apologize. They should have thought a little more thoroughly about presenting something that violates the very terms of service they require their own players to agree with when dealing with one another. They're not just some random dude in a game doing a drive by insult, they're a multi-billion dollar international corporation, and it exhibited an extreme tone deafness to give air to such garbage.

Certainly, as a private organization they can espouse whatever they want and present whatever sort of public face they want, but as a customer or even just a bystander I can vociferously demand for them to apologize. I'm left scratching my head at the odd undercurrent of responses that tell people not to take it so personally, which is ultimately telling them that they shouldn't bring it up, or they'll be shouted down.

You're welcome to think what they did was acceptable or tolerable, I'm welcome to think it was not. Neither of us are welcome to tell anyone else to shut up about it.
 

UnravThreads

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Aug 10, 2009
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In other words:
Hi, I'm Mike Morhaime.
I'm going to say some generic PR trash that I haven't even said myself, but that the guys in marketing came up. This wasn't an oversight, we just got caught with our pants down and we want to attempt to minimise the damage by appearing sincere and apologetic, when really we just don't give a toss.
Ha. Give us your money.
 

leahzero

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May 20, 2007
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Why are they apologizing? The video was an accurate portrayal of the World of Warcraft community. I'm all for truth in advertising.
 

jurnag12

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Nov 9, 2009
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I still don't understand why everyone is so upset that he wanted all Night Elf sticks to die.
In all seriousness, really? Who says this was even meant as homophobic? Maybe the guy needed a random throwaway swearword and that was the first that came to mind?
And were people really offended that he hated on the Alliance? Because in a game about warring factions, god forbid someone actual expresses a negative opinion against one of them!
 

Nurb

Cynical bastard
Dec 9, 2008
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THat's the guy who should be apologising, not the band. I find it hard to believe no one knew how those guys talked before they were brought up, and they can say whatever they want, but those who run the con have control of who they let hear them. So it was their mistake. Kind of like how the news COULD keep the westboro baptist church's message from spreading if they just didn't give them fucking camera time, but they want to put the crazies on air so they get ratings from angry viewers/

Oh well, it's over now.
 

Whytewulf

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Dec 20, 2009
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UnravThreads said:
In other words:
Hi, I'm Mike Morhaime.
I'm going to say some generic PR trash that I haven't even said myself, but that the guys in marketing came up. This wasn't an oversight, we just got caught with our pants down and we want to attempt to minimise the damage by appearing sincere and apologetic, when really we just don't give a toss.
Ha. Give us your money.
And really what do you want them to do? What could even satisfy the "hurt" personalities of the offended?
 

Eri

The Light of Dawn
Feb 21, 2009
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I know why he apologized, because all the whiners wouldn't shut up about a video several years old. They had nothing to say sorry for, people ***** at them for their decisions no matter what they do.
 

brunothepig

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May 18, 2009
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Why the fuck is he apologising? It's not a big deal. Corpsegrinder clearly wasn't serious, and that's all that should matter. First time I saw that video I was laughing my head off. These people complaining need to grow up.
 

rsvp42

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Jan 15, 2010
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Was it at least funny? Obviously Blizzard is a big company and doesn't have the luxury of being edgy or offensive in that way without significant backlash, but if it was funny, it makes it slightly less terrible.

Of course, now I'm just thinking of this:
 

StarCecil

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Feb 28, 2010
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leahzero said:
Why are they apologizing? The video was an accurate portrayal of the World of Warcraft community. I'm all for truth in advertising.
Not that I think it was a-okay for them to do, but yeah. That's what the entirety of the gaming community is like. To get all up in arms when a company does it but ignore it when a player says the exact same thing (or even engage in it yourself) is hypocritical.
 

MatsVS

Tea & Grief
Nov 9, 2009
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harmonic said:
I look forward to the day when words like "******" have no power. That will only happen when people decide to stop giving it power by being extraordinarily offended by it.
No, and that's a silly thing to say. The word '******' will lose its people power when subhuman bigots stop screaming it at homosexual teenagers as they're beating them bloody. Being offended by it is perfectly understandable, and quite frankly, we should all be bloody offended by it. Telling people to simply "get over it" is also, by the way, offensive.

"Live and let live" is just a vastly more hypocritical way of saying "survival of the fittest", and the very notion something so archaic is sickening to civilised humans.
 

UnravThreads

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Aug 10, 2009
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Whytewulf said:
And really what do you want them to do? What could even satisfy the "hurt" personalities of the offended?
They could stop spewing PR nonsense and perhaps donate some of their millions of dollars to an LGBT charity, or better still a selection of them. That's a better apology than just putting out the same old "We're sorry, it was an oversight" rubbish.
 

Icehearted

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Jul 14, 2009
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Wait, wait, wait...
Is he from 4chan? He sounds like 4chan.


In online games (hell, any genre) there's plenty of discrimination to go around, he's only sorry that the spotlight was on him when it happened.
 

Whytewulf

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Dec 20, 2009
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UnravThreads said:
Whytewulf said:
And really what do you want them to do? What could even satisfy the "hurt" personalities of the offended?
They could stop spewing PR nonsense and perhaps donate some of their millions of dollars to an LGBT charity, or better still a selection of them. That's a better apology than just putting out the same old "We're sorry, it was an oversight" rubbish.
So apologies are no longer acceptable for mistakes that truly didn't "hurt" or "wrong" anyway. No particular person was harmed by this event, so you want millions of dollars to go to someone. Why doesn't someone feel they are always entitled to money. Call them on their mistake, make them own up to it, hope they never do it again. Then let's move on to the bigger issues of the day. I am not saying ignore it. (I don't like it when people think only the biggest issues should be addressed). Just let's fight the real fights with the real bad guys.

Captach - waves desired. nice.
 

flaming_squirrel

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Jun 28, 2008
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What's that, people on the internet like to act offended by things?!

What madness is this?

Wouldnt be too surprised if the vast majority of those complaining were suffering from White Knight syndrome.