Hundreds of World of Warcraft players took to the game’s social hub of Oribos to host a virtual sit-in protest against Activision Blizzard’s alleged “pervasive frat boy workplace culture.”
The sit-in was staged following the lawsuit filed by California’s civil rights agency called Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) in the Los Angeles Superior Court. According to the lawsuit, Activision Blizzard’s female employees are subjected to constant sexual harassment, unequal pay, and retaliation.
The protest was organized by role-play guild Fence Macabre. The group also used this opportunity to raise money for charity Black Girls Code. BGC is a non-profit organization teaching young women of color about computer programming and technology. As of the time of writing, over $8500 has been raised.
Fence Macabre encourages all sub-locked players to join us on Thursday July 22nd at 9AM PST at the Idyllia Steps, Oribos.
Alliance Anchor: Vicaire-WyrmrestAccord
Horde Anchor: Loira-WyrmrestAccordFundraising Campaign: https://t.co/uRVkYZUcSY pic.twitter.com/bl8IaLXVXh
— Fence Macabre Caravan (@fencemacabre) July 22, 2021
“We as customers and members of this community protest the unethical treatment of employees at Activision Blizzard, and demand that they make transparent lasting changes to their company and associated IPs. We stand with the victims and survivors of Blizzard’s racism and abuse,” Fence Macabre said.
After the news broke yesterday of DFEH’s lawsuit, Activision Blizzard released a statement saying that “the picture the DFEH paints is not the Blizzard workplace of today.” The company called DFEH’s claims “distorted, and in many cases false, descriptions of Blizzard’s past” and said it would defend itself in court.