A World of Warcraft character named Gorge the Corpsegrinder, named after Corpsegrinder frontman George ‘Corpsegrinder’ Fisher, has had its name changed as Blizzard continues combing through the archives and finding references in the game that, in 2021, maybe aren’t as cool as they used to be.
In this instance, it was the rediscovery of a 2007 interview with Fisher that was later broadcast during Blizzcon 2011, in which he begins by talking about his love for WoW — ”I’ve got four accounts at level 70, I’m not fuckin’ playing man, WoW is fuckin’ life for me” — but later gets heated when revealing which faction he played.
“I don’t play no fuckin’ homo Alliance, either…fuck the Alliance, fuckin’ die you emo cocksuckers”. You can see the original 2007 interview here:
And here’s the interview, recut and censored, being played live on the BlizzCon 2011 stage, in a video captured and uploaded by some guy in the crowd called Mike Fahey:
It’s important to note here that going back to this video and criticising it isn’t some act of archaeological outrage; its showing in 2011 was controversial even then, and prompted then-President Mike Morhaime to issue the following statement:
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 realise 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 apologise 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
The change was made in Patch 9.1.5, as reported by Wowhead. The character will remain in the game, but will now be known as Annihilator Grek’lor.
Blizzard is continuing to make targeted adjustments to #WorldofWarcraft on the Patch 9.1.5 PTR, renaming a reference to George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher, while changing dialogue in the quests Damsels Were Made to be Saved and The Day that Deathwing Came.https://t.co/SUC1JcpdVf pic.twitter.com/4B7x6nvl2x
— Wowhead???? (@Wowhead) October 17, 2021
Leave a Reply