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Electronic Arts, which has Respawn Entertainment, Maxis, and a number of other gaming companies, has issued a statement in support of transgender rights and women’s rights.
In celebration of Pride month for the LGBTQ+ community, the Electronic Arts company used their official twitter account to advocate for the fair treatment of people in this community, adding that they are entitled to enjoy human rights.
“As a company, we are united that Trans Rights are Human Rights. Women’s Rights are Human Rights. Our support is unwavering for our people, our players, and our LGBTQ+ communities.”
A link to a blog post explaining the company’s opinions on Pride Month and efforts to help the LGBTQ+ community was also included in the tweet. The announcement followed an internal meeting on May 24, during which Electronic Arts reportedly stated that the company would not take a public stance on these topics unless the narrative had a “consistent perspective.”
EA’s decision to not make any comment earlier this week led to a controversy. Employees threatened to walk out because the corporation refused to take a public stand in support of trans rights and the right to abortion.
The plot was revealed in a post sent to EA’s corporate Slack group, in which employees expressed their dissatisfaction with the company’s opaque plans to promote LGBTQ+ causes in June.
Over the same message, staff threatened a walkout if the company did not take adequate steps to support the blog post about impending Pride celebrations.
“If we see the company rainbow-wash their logo without making any substantive statement in support of trans people being abused nationwide in the US and elsewhere, especially after stating that the company doesn’t want to make any statement not supported by the diverse viewpoints of our 13,000 employees, we collectively walk out on Friday, June 3rd,” the message read.
“Just slapping a rainbow on our logo in June without any broader action will be unacceptable.”
Most people believed the corporation needed to make a clear announcement in regards to anti-abortion and anti-trans laws sprouting up across the United States, even though the company replied with an internal email outlining its aims and expectations for employees during Pride month.
EA’s subsidiaries show support for the LGBTQ+ community EA’s early silence was not followed by all personnel. Vince Zampella, the Head of Respawn Entertainment, issued a tweet advocating for trans rights and applauding the company’s progress in this regard.
“Trans rights are human rights. It is as simple as that. Respawn has grown on the principles of diversity, equality, and inclusion and strives to uphold those values. Let’s be better humans.”
The same day, Vice President of Franchise Creative for the Sims at Maxis, Lyndsay Pearson, tweeted a similar message.
“Women’s rights are human rights. Transgender rights are human rights. Maxis and @TheSims value diversity, equality and inclusion in our core and we strive to bring this to life through our teams and our work. We see you and we stand with you.”
The following day, Resprawn Entertainment took to their official Twitter handle to tweet in this concern.
“At Respawn, we strive to be inclusive in the games we create and how we treat our employees and our players. Inaction is a choice and hurts those we care for.” Also, a photo of some of Apex’s LGBTQ+ characters were displayed, along with the remark “Trans rights are human rights.”
