We need to talk about Nintendo firing a woman targeted by Internet trolls
We need to talk about Nintendo firing a woman targeted by Internet trolls
The Internet can be a scary place, and sadly, former Nintendo employee Alison Rapp knows that all too well.
Following an aggressive Internet smear campaign that targeted her as the reason for many censorship disputes, on Wednesday, Alison was fired from Nintendo. The company denies that the trolling had anything to do with the decision, claiming Alison was let go for working a second job. Kotaku published the following statement from Nintendo:
“Though Ms. Rapp’s termination follows her being the subject of criticism from certain groups via social media several weeks ago, the two are absolutely not related. Nintendo is a company committed to fostering inclusion and diversity in both our company and the broader video game industry and we firmly reject the harassment of individuals based on gender, race, or personal beliefs. We wish Ms. Rapp well in her future endeavors.”
However, Alison, a product marketing specialist in Nintendo’s Treehouse division, which translates Nintendo’s Japanese games, has been a target for months. As many gamers noticed the sexual content of Japanese games in America being distilled from the original versions (specifically, downplaying the sexualization of teenagers), Alison became the scapegoat, despite playing no direct role in the “localization” of the games. She even tweeted a Google Doc of the attacks she’s received that have centered around the fact that she’s a woman.
While Nintendo is sticking to its argument, some of Alison’s recent tweets suggest that she believes something else might have been at play in the decision to let her go.
We can all be better than this. We can make games a better, more inclusive, less frightened industry.
— smol pterodactyl (@alisonrapp) March 31, 2016
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