Blizzard has come under fire for featuring an interview with Cannibal Corpse frontman George Fisher during Blizzcon's closing concert. The video rolled partway through an Level 90 Epic Tauren Chieftain performance, in which Fisher was providing guest vocals.
The video -- censored in official recordings but played unedited during the concert -- featured Fisher promoting his love for the World of Warcraft Horde faction and belittling the Alliance with some ... colorful language. Using such charming words as "faggot", "queer", and featuring a strange obsession with the term "emo cocksucker," Fisher has earned Blizzard the wrath of quite a few gay gamers, upset by the decision to air a video rife with homophobic slurs.
Blizzard has issued a canned response to the matter following three threads on its forums. Community manager Bashlok said the video was "just meant in fun" but apologized to anybody offended.
While some gamers will likely not understand why this is a big deal, I hope we can all admit it was nonetheless stupid for Blizzard to give this the go ahead. Even if the words were used in jest, when you have a video in which a guy exclusively and excessively uses gay slurs as his choice of insult, there's no way part of your audience isn't going to feel rather brutally alienated.
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Sorry, but if you are seriously gonna lose respect for a band that has made millions off of songs like "fucked with a knife" and "meat hook sodomy" then you are a moron. Gay Gamer just likes to blow things out of proportion, they are attention starved.
I don't mind gay people, but they do get upset over the smaller things,(not a penis Joke). I didn't find any of it funny, and I can see why some are upset. Then again, I don't see it as a Anti-Gay Speech, like some are saying.
6 posts and someone already leaps to defense of this guy and says gays are just too sensitive and are blowing a homophobic tirade out of context. Stay classy gamers.
Seriously though, I don't have that much of an issue with using dumb and/or inarticulate celebrities to promote things but I think a public forum in the style of Blizzcon is inappropriate for it. Maybe as a throwaway tweet or a semi-official endorsement by someone at blizzard (like "hey, this famous guy likes our thing!" but not Blizzcon.
my IQ has been decimated by watching even the first few seconds of this video. This was a promoted video? What the hell were they trying to promote this makes me realize why I don't care for online games even more.
Some gays are way to sensitive. Nothing he said was against gays. He never said he hated them. He never directly called them out, calling them names. He's calling a class in a video game gay slurs and that's it. Don't tell me you have never ever ever called something queer, because if you have then I guess you're no better then this guy, right? Finally, I have more then a few gay friends and they all say must gays blow stuff like this out of the water.
@Nintendan
The word f****t is a pretty horrible word (especially when you consider the fact that it refers to bundles of sticks where gay people were said to be burned at the stake); in my opinion, it's right up there with the N word. It's no large stretch to take it as anti-gay speech.
@space moose
I respect them as a death metal band which I don't believe makes me a moron. I guess I should say -2 for George Fisher, but I don't find it offensive, just unnecessarily dudebro.
Yeah, it's just words there people. I am pretty sure that George Fisher IRL is a liberal guy. Like actually supports liberal causes and is a vegetarian. Seriously, words don't actually do bodily harm, I been called a fag and a queer many times in Tacoma, WA, and so have my friends. Other's opinions don't actually matter when they are that base. Chill the fuck out people.
now that's not cool ! I wouldn't blame blizzard for that, I guess they didn't see that coming, besides, they officialy apologized about it. to be honest, I find more repulsive the way a small amount of users commented this post.
It's not Blizzard's fault for this guy being a mouthy douchebag that drank about 10 too many Redbulls. But they should have never let the footage get out into the public. If it were a live broadcast, they should have cut it off.
Oh yeah, also check who you are interviewing a little better. I bet a 2 minute conversation with this guy would have told you it would go bad. Don't talk to his band manager, talk to THE GUY himself.
the video shown at blizzcon had a million bleeps. And he was referring to gnomes and horde is better. I am not condoning the language but the context of the video wasnt aimed at real world people given the poor choice to show this video.
Are you implying someone who makes songs like "meathook sodomy" deserves respect in the first place?
@Nintendan
The fact that he uses those terms to describe people/things he hates is the issue. To him alliance=bad and bad=gay. Thus, alliance is gay. Playing that for fans was, at best, fucking retarded and at worst an endorsement of these ideas.
Also, "I know gay people who aren't sensitive" means jackshit. Your friends' feelings have nothing to do with other people. That's like saying it's ok to to pee on your girlfriend because someone somewhere is ok with that shit. No.
Who would have guessed a guy who goes by the pseudonym Corpsegrinder and has penned such songs as Hammer Smashed Face would possibly have a foul mouth?
He appears to rely too much on swearing in general to communicate. It's clear though that he was not singling out and picking on gay people. Context and intent have to be taken into account with these things before allegations of bigotry get thrown around.
god people are so fucking oversensitive these days. words only contain the power you give them. i see no reason to censor this kind of crap just because a few morons are going to cry over it. if yer that insecure with your own sexuality, then you have bigger problems than some crappy singer using a few specific words to slander a video game faction. see a therapist. get some counseling. grow the fuck up.
I was going to point out that Blizzard encouraged actions that break their own Code of Conduct for in-game chat, but the CoC gives the caveat of "language which, in the sole and absolute discretion of Blizzard, is deemed to be offensive". So it would seem that Blizzard doesn't deem this kind of language to be vulgar or hateful.
For a company with such a massive user base to pander so hard to the whims of their players that they shrug off any social responsibility is disgusting. Even though crap-headed homophobic sentiments are commonplace in online gaming doesn't make it justifiable to tolerate or feed it.
It's Corpsegrinder, what do you expect? Let's not forget that this is the same band that brought us songs like "Entrails Ripped from a Virgin's Cunt", and "Addicted to Vaginal Skin". People need to calm down and the enjoy the fun things in life, like Cannibal Corpse. I'd also like to point out that he never once says anything negative about gays.
I think it's important to consider what your words are actually implying. People are entitled to say what they like, but...
Well, for example, someone up there said 'I don't mind gay people, but...' Saying 'I don't mind' sort of implies that there's something there that legitimately might be 'minded' by other people. For example, you might say 'I don't mind people who pirate games' or 'I don't mind public transport' but it would be sort of weird to say something like 'I don't mind people who listen to music' where there's no particular reason that you even would/should mind in the first place.
Gays, black people, latinos, even whites want to be treated as martyrs. Give me a break, none of you are different from anybody, being offended by the jokes of a random, drunk dudebro is just stupid as shooting your own foot.
Also, this video is stupidly old, why is everyone bitching now?
This is unacceptable. Imagine if this happened before a football game or something. People would freak out. It's pretty sad when Blizzard is less socially aware than television....
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Contest:
10:30 AM on 10.27.2011 | 
Also I dont see why he hates the alliance. Although I play as undead. Am I now a homophobic , longhaired ,rocker???
I got the long hair
I gotta agree, should have never been shown
So this takes them down to what now, a -5 total?
Seriously though, I don't have that much of an issue with using dumb and/or inarticulate celebrities to promote things but I think a public forum in the style of Blizzcon is inappropriate for it. Maybe as a throwaway tweet or a semi-official endorsement by someone at blizzard (like "hey, this famous guy likes our thing!" but not Blizzcon.
Some gays are way to sensitive. Nothing he said was against gays. He never said he hated them. He never directly called them out, calling them names. He's calling a class in a video game gay slurs and that's it. Don't tell me you have never ever ever called something queer, because if you have then I guess you're no better then this guy, right? Finally, I have more then a few gay friends and they all say must gays blow stuff like this out of the water.
The word f****t is a pretty horrible word (especially when you consider the fact that it refers to bundles of sticks where gay people were said to be burned at the stake); in my opinion, it's right up there with the N word. It's no large stretch to take it as anti-gay speech.
I respect them as a death metal band which I don't believe makes me a moron. I guess I should say -2 for George Fisher, but I don't find it offensive, just unnecessarily dudebro.
These are just merely jokes, we're in 2011 people calm down.
>mfw this happened before in previous blizzcons and nobody cared
>mfw everyone gets crazy about it today
Oh yeah, also check who you are interviewing a little better. I bet a 2 minute conversation with this guy would have told you it would go bad. Don't talk to his band manager, talk to THE GUY himself.
Are you implying someone who makes songs like "meathook sodomy" deserves respect in the first place?
@Nintendan
The fact that he uses those terms to describe people/things he hates is the issue. To him alliance=bad and bad=gay. Thus, alliance is gay. Playing that for fans was, at best, fucking retarded and at worst an endorsement of these ideas.
Also, "I know gay people who aren't sensitive" means jackshit. Your friends' feelings have nothing to do with other people. That's like saying it's ok to to pee on your girlfriend because someone somewhere is ok with that shit. No.
Lighten up, Francis.
For a company with such a massive user base to pander so hard to the whims of their players that they shrug off any social responsibility is disgusting. Even though crap-headed homophobic sentiments are commonplace in online gaming doesn't make it justifiable to tolerate or feed it.
Well, for example, someone up there said 'I don't mind gay people, but...' Saying 'I don't mind' sort of implies that there's something there that legitimately might be 'minded' by other people. For example, you might say 'I don't mind people who pirate games' or 'I don't mind public transport' but it would be sort of weird to say something like 'I don't mind people who listen to music' where there's no particular reason that you even would/should mind in the first place.
Small point, but still.
Also, this video is stupidly old, why is everyone bitching now?
Anyone who thinks this is fine just has no idea.