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[Replicant]

Lot of people here really like the idea of a lynching mob.


I am glad you are not, hopefully, judges in real life.


All for what is a distasteful joke ?

FYI she even question herself whether this was intentional or not:


"I doubt it was intentional, but doesn't make it any less huniliating."

https://twitter.com/LaurakBuzz/status/384337484445786112
(I hope I am reading twitter right .... I always get confused with Twitter )

Bottom line for me it is a big internet overreaction .....

Yes, let's blame the victim, who's likely still in shock and trying to rationalize that people can't possibly be that hurtful to another person.

 

[Sputnik Sweetheart]

Hate to get in the way of a good mob, but are we sure this happened as stated? I mean, all we've got is a one-sided accusation of this happening, from one person's perspective. It was a public event, surely there were hundreds of other witnesses, or maybe video, right?

The thread is moving too fast to keep up with, so I'm just going to throw this out there.

The "MS show" being described here was a fairly small thing around the back of the Fable stand with probably around 100 people watching it at a given time. People were going up there to act like idiots for swag - when I walked past a few times on Thursday and Friday hey had people impersonating animals, doing embarrassing dances, that kind of thing. There is virtually no chance of video existing for this unless someone's friend went up and they wanted some embarrassing footage.

In that context, you can see why a comedian (who still hasn't been named outside of internet detectives?) might seek to make fun of a prominent character trait this woman had. Maybe if she had rainbow coloured hair as per the picture he thought she was a cosplayer doing a character thing? Maybe the comedian got the wrong end of the stick when Laura was trying explain herself, he's the one with the microphone trying to keep the show going.

I'm not saying his behavior was acceptable, I'm saying we've only got one side of the story and I don't think the pitchforks in this thread are justified. A couple of people mentioned Mike Bithell:

https://twitter.com/mikeBithell

I would think he was at his own booth at the time promoting his own game, and is just reacting to the story like everyone else unless he specifically says that he saw it somewhere I missed. Even if he went for a break, if I was him I sure wouldn't be watching some crappy MS sideshow!

None of this should be construed as an attack on Laura for what it's worth.

 

[mattiewheels]

Jesus, some of the comments on her twitter are just vile.

Mild-mannered high school student by day......but heartless shitface on twitter/Xbox Live by night. The internet brings the best out of kids these days.

 

[Sorian]

I really feel like this isn't a great thread for juniors to post in. I mean, continue if you feel like you are being civil but remember being a junior gives a shorter leash than the rest of us.

 

[theRizzle]

What fucking comedians are you people watching anyways?

That style of comedy has been on life-support for over a decade. These days audience interaction is almost zero (other than hecklers, but that's a whole other animal) because ALL the jokes have been done. It's hacky.

 

[TheStevo]

At a comedy show? Sure, I agree with you, takes a special comedian to pull it off but it can be done. At a tech show? No.

Again, it's all about context and the delivery. I'm not jumping on a bandwagon with no readily verifiable evidence (or collaborative evidence) besides one side of the story on a twitter account. It sounds unfortunate but I'll reserve compete judgement when all the facts come out.

 

[Warmijwilf]

If the comedian had only used "he" and had not been corrected you would have a reasonable point.

But "it" and "thing" mean the comedian knew very well he was dealing with a trans person and still went along with it. Very much not okay.

But like I said, "it" and "thing" may not actually have been directed at her but her on stage avatar, like they were in the presentation on the previous day, and she could've misunderstood.

We REALLY don't know because there's nothing to indicate what went on other than her tweets. No other person has stepped up yet. And we haven't heard the guy's side of the story yet.

I'm not saying this isn't something to get up in arms about when we have full details and know the dude's a dick, but we don't know all the facts yet and we're just going by her side of the story.

 

[Trame]

saying "it"?

well, if he said "he" he would of been annoyed.. or she?

oh my god where do you people keep coming from

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

saying "it"?

well, if he said "he" he would of been annoyed.. or she? i dunno, understandable to say "it" to me..

if i was fat, the comedian would a picked up on that.. thats what comedians do.

No one does that. I have never heard of someone referring to someone else as it. He and she are pronouns there for a reason.

The asking of there being any females in the crowd is jsut about acceptable but your having a lugh if you think calling someone a thing or it does no offend them slightly.

The comedian should just apologise.

 

[Wallach]

Sorry ass excuse for a comedian. What a cunt.

 

[Jenga]

who's likely still in shock and trying to rationalize that people can't possibly be that hurtful to another person.

"still in shock"?

don't patronize her now

 

[Sorian]

Again, it's all about context and the delivery. I'm not jumping on a bandwagon with no readily verifiable evidence (or collaborative evidence) besides one side of the story on a twitter account. It sounds unfortunate but I'll reserve compete judgement when all the facts come out.

A couple sides of the story, at least but your choice, I don't rightly care.

 

[Brawly Likes to Brawl]

Calling an MtF a "he" is one thing, but "it"? Jesus, that's just cruel.

 

[TheStevo]

A couple sides of the story, at least but your choice, I don't rightly care.

A couple?

 

[Blair]

This wouldn't be an issue if it was some hack at a comedy club trying to be 2edgy4u, but if your hired by microsoft, leave that shit at the door. You don't have to be clean and family friendly, but do your research and adapt the act.

 

[Sorian]

A couple?

Someone posted a link to someone else's twitter who was at the event a couple pages back.

 

[Alo81]

saying "it"?

well, if he said "he" he would of been annoyed.. or she? i dunno, understandable to say "it" to me..

if i was fat, the comedian would a picked up on that.. thats what comedians do.

"It" is never, ever, ever justified.

If you call a transperson a man, that can at least be mistaken for someone just not knowing. Calling someone "it" just says that you don't even recognize them as a person.

This whole situation is absolutely terrible and just sickening.

 

[Evil Monkey DTT]

I'm going to repeat alot of people here, that man is a disgusting piece of shit. It wasn't just a slip up either, he repeatedly insulted the poor woman. I don't entirely blame microsoft (although I am going to say jesus christ your pr guys) but this man is a fucking monster.

Edit: also as for the people upset she's upset about the industry comment, I would like to remind you of a certain gta review on gamespot.

 

[Warmijwilf]

Someone posted a link to someone else's twitter who was at the event a couple pages back.

They also called the dude a "Microsoft rep" when he wasn't. And it's not like he was going to say "Yeah my friend is just a stupid idiot who misunderstood what was going on" was he? We need someone who saw the event but had no affiliation with the girl before we can know what was going on without a bias viewpoint.

 

[Cryoflar3]

This is just disrespectful. I hope he's removed for this.

 

[leadbelly]

If the comedian had only used "he" and had not been corrected you would have a reasonable point.

But "it" and "thing" mean the comedian knew very well he was dealing with a trans person and still went along with it. Very much not okay.

This is a comedian that wanted a woman to come up on stage, and unexpectedly to him, a person came on stage that obviously looked like a man, but was dressed as a woman. Being a comedian, you could understand him thinking to himself whether he could make something funny out of it. Now the question for me is: did he understand that the person was transgendered and continued to make offensive jokes at her expense, or did he think it was just a man dressed in drag and so nothing was off limits?

 

[redcrayon]

Mild-mannered high school student by day......but heartless shitface on twitter/Xbox Live by night. The internet brings the best out of kids these days.

'Someone has made a complaint in a reasonable manner and asked people not to resort to insults! Damn these PC police, we had better insult them!'

The argument that the comedian didn't know what pronoun to use falls apart the minute he resorted to 'it'. Better to be wrong and apologise than just to make absolutely sure you dehumanise and offend someone.

 

[Shellshock929]

I agree with most of this, that the situation was handled like piss, but I was just saying it's wrong to pin the guy's views on Microsoft.




As I've stated before, there's no proof yet that this didn't happen. It most likely did happen.

I really don't understand how there are people in this thread who think multi-billion dollar corporations just hire random schmucks for high-profile press events and don't give them strict guidelines and contracts. We know absolutely nothing of what happened prior to the event, but do you really think that such rules weren't laid down? The guy just thought it would be funny and ignored the rules.

There was one more thing to add to the previous message my friend wanted me to post.

"Even though Nintendo does work for PR firms (I can't name them here, Nintendo Ninjas and all) at least with NoA they have contract agreements that put the blame on them if NoA does not like their actions and they ALWAYS have a rep from HQ on the ground to watch over things to report directly to the company. I'm curious if this is a EU only thing (since a lot of leaks for NCL and other companies come from the EU divisions) or if this is a Microsoft does not think that far ahead with PR unlike Nintendo thing."

 

[Joni]

They also called the dude a "Microsoft rep" when he wasn't. And it's not like he was going to say "Yeah my friend is just a stupid idiot who misunderstood what was going on" was he? We need someone who saw the event but had no affiliation with the girl before we can know what was going on without a bias viewpoint.

He was representing Microsoft, he is a Microsoft representative.

 

[winstano]

She's just updated Twitter:

Eurogamer and Microsoft have both reached out. Will email after podcast tonighy.

 

[inherendo]

MS should reprimand all the staff that worked there that day. Even if they were scared if it would be bad pr, the staff members should have realized that not doing something would have been even worse. Sucks for the journalist; she shouldn't have to deal with this shit. I would have walked off stage.

 

[RexPower]

Holy shit, the fact this situation exists is pretty ridiculous. I was there and saw the whole thing. The presenter genuinely did not know whether or not is was a man/woman and didn't really say anything that could have been taken in offense. Technically, this journalist is a man, so saying that you're offended by being called one is pretty ridiculous. I wasn't even sure at the time, I just thought it was a dude with colourful hair.

I think this has been blown way out or proportion. Overreaction much...

 

[macewank]

saying "it"?

well, if he said "he" he would of been annoyed.. or she? i dunno, understandable to say "it" to me..

it is absolutely unacceptable to refer to any person as "it" ever. ever

 

[LeeRoyBrown]

OK.

So....was the presenter not aware she was a male at birth and still looks like one but prefers to be called a women?

Or was the presenter aware, and just being a dickhead?

I need some context here? Is there a video of this?

What's the story behind it?

 

[Jenga]

She's just updated Twitter:

Eurogamer and Microsoft have both reached out. Will email after podcast tonighy.

...what podcast

 

[Prime crotch]

I'm going to repeat alot of people here, that man is a disgusting piece of shit. It wasn't just a slip up either, he repeatedly insulted the poor woman. I don't entirely blame microsoft (although I am going to say jesus christ your pr guys) but this man is a fucking monster.

Yeah let's send him up to the gas chambers.

 

[inherendo]

This is a comedian that wanted a woman to come up on stage, and unexpectedly to him, a person came on stage that obviously looked like a man, but was dressed as a woman. Being a comedian, you could understand him thinking to himself whether he could make something funny out of this. Now the question for me is: did he understand that the person was transgendered and continued to make offensive jokes at her expense, or did he think it was just a man dressed in drag and so nothing was off limits?

Calling someone it makes your argument kinda moot. He understood who the transgender was.

 

[Wallach]

Holy shit, the fact this situation exists is pretty ridiculous. I was there and saw the whole thing. The presenter genuinely did not know whether or not is was a man/woman and didn't really say anything that could have been taken in offense. Technically, this journalist is a man, so saying that you're offended by being called one is pretty ridiculous. I wasn't even sure at the time, I just thought it was a dude with colourful hair.

I think this has been blown way out or proportion. Overreaction much...

So did this guy call her "it" or "thing" or not?

 

[Warmijwilf]

He was representing Microsoft, he is a Microsoft representative.

The guy was improvising for the most part, he wasn't given a script and brief representing Microsoft's views and policies. Or if he was, he ignored it. Thus, he wasn't representing Microsoft.

 

[Dictator93]

Let us wait to find out what happened from multiple sides before we make quick judgements.

It would obviously not be the best thing if this incident occurred intentionally with malice. Also, I am of the opinion that people should not automatically say "off with the person's head." I prefer if it was rectified through an open dialogue as to why such and such is a problem.

 

[Sorian]

They also called the dude a "Microsoft rep" when he wasn't. And it's not like he was going to say "Yeah my friend is just a stupid idiot who misunderstood what was going on" was he? We need someone who saw the event but had no affiliation with the girl before we can know what was going on without a bias viewpoint.

Most people there probably did think the guy was a "microsoft rep" this is more about the perception than the actual facts. Its great that he isn't actually affiliated with MS, professionally, but as far as that audience was concerned, he was. Microsoft can apologize and make it better but they will still have a small stigma from this for a little awhile.

And to the bolded, yes, I do this to my friends all the time if they are overly sensitive to something or just plain dense to understand.

The guy was improvising for the most part, he wasn't given a script and brief representing Microsoft's views and policies. Or if he was, he ignored it. Thus, he wasn't representing Microsoft.

This isn't how it works. He was on a microsoft stage, probably wearing a microsoft logo. He was representing them.

 

[DomeSplitter]

MS should reprimand all the staff that worked there that day. Even if they were scared if it would be bad pr, the staff members should have realized that not doing something would have been even worse. Sucks for the journalist; she shouldn't have to deal with this shit. I would have walked off stage.

So because some one was insulted/humiliated, the ENTIRE Microsoft staff that worked that day has to be reprimanded?

You're a little bit extreme aren't ya?

 

[SolidChamp]

Holy shit, the fact this situation exists is pretty ridiculous. I was there and saw the whole thing. The presenter genuinely did not know whether or not is was a man/woman and didn't really say anything that could have been taken in offense. Technically, this journalist is a man, so saying that you're offended by being called one is pretty ridiculous. I wasn't even sure at the time, I just thought it was a dude with colourful hair.

I think this has been blown way out or proportion. Overreaction much...

Good luck with that.

 

[BigDes]

OK.

So....was the presenter not aware she was a male at birth and still looks like one but prefers to be called a women?

Or was the presenter aware, and just being a dickhead?

Guy used the word 'it' to refer to a person, you decide

Yeah let's send him up to the gas chambers.

Seems a bit of an over reaction. Can't we just point out how much of a dick this man is?

 

[Trame]

Technically, this journalist is a man

no

 

[inherendo]

saying "it"?

well, if he said "he" he would of been annoyed.. or she? i dunno, understandable to say "it" to me..

if i was fat, the comedian would a picked up on that.. thats what comedians do.

Yeah, a comedian isn't going to go call a gay person a "faggot" or a lesbian a "dike." Not unless they are a shitty comedian going for shock value. Anyone defending the comedian doesn't have a leg to stand on and should feel bad for even trying.

 

[B-Dubs]

OK.

So....was the presenter not aware she was a male at birth and still looks like one but prefers to be called a women?

Or was the presenter aware, and just being a dickhead?

I need some context here? Is there a video of this?

What's the story behind it?

He called her "it," so I'd say it was fairly intentional. When was the last time you called someone "it" in regards to their gender?

 

[Sorian]

So because some one was insulted/humiliated, the ENTIRE Microsoft staff that worked that day has to be reprimanded?

You're a little bit extreme aren't ya?

It's my understanding that when questioned the other staff there were not forthcoming with details on the rude person and didn't seem to care too much? Not saying the whole staff should be punished but this isn't an isolated incident to one guy either.

 

[redcrayon]

Holy shit, the fact this situation exists is pretty ridiculous. I was there and saw the whole thing. The presenter genuinely did not know whether or not is was a man/woman and didn't really say anything that could have been taken in offense. Technically, this journalist is a man, so saying that you're offended by being called one is pretty ridiculous. I wasn't even sure at the time, I just thought it was a dude with colourful hair.

I think this has been blown way out or proportion. Overreaction much...

It's not being mistaken for a man that's the issue (although she does seem to have been annoyed by that too) , It's being called 'it'. That has no purpose other than to offend, and even if you are a comedian, surely if you do public speaking you should realise that at that point you are on really shaky ground. This is in the OP, how did you miss that?

 

[Alo81]

OK.

So....was the presenter not aware she was a male at birth and still looks like one but prefers to be called a women?

Or was the presenter aware, and just being a dickhead?

I need some context here? Is there a video of this?

What's the story behind it?

Calling someone it is never justified and removes any room for confusion in your argument.

 

[L3G3ND6]

This is very bad, the journalist shouldn't have been refereed to as "It" or "Thing" that should be dealt with, however in the OP it also says 'called male twice' and "he" I am not trying to be a douche or anything but anybody would be confused on this since she has male characteristics. But as I said earlier, the other ways he refereed to her was terrible.

 

[Dictator93]

He called her "it," so I'd say it was fairly intentional. When was the last time you called someone "it" in regards to their gender?

Was the presenter's first language english? That also has a lot to do with personal pronouns (german for example).

 

[kinggroin]

Holy shit, the fact this situation exists is pretty ridiculous. I was there and saw the whole thing. The presenter genuinely did not know whether or not is was a man/woman and didn't really say anything that could have been taken in offense. Technically, this journalist is a man, so saying that you're offended by being called one is pretty ridiculous. I wasn't even sure at the time, I just thought it was a dude with colourful hair.

I think this has been blown way out or proportion. Overreaction much...

Hmmm.


Explain the context of it and thing please.

 

[Joni]

The guy was improvising for the most part, he wasn't given a script and brief representing Microsoft's views and policies. Or if he was, he ignored it. Thus, he wasn't representing Microsoft.

His job there was representing Microsoft, it is why Microsoft will offer an apology and denounce what the guy said.

 

[Majmun]

no

Maybe he meant biologically.

But that's a bit offtopic.