Cosby Suite

Submission 11,747

Part of a series on Activision-Blizzard Lawsuit. [View Related Entries]

47. In a blatant example of Defendants' refusal to deal with a harasser because of his seniority/position, Alex Afrasiabi, the former Senior Creative Director of World of Warcraft at Blizzard Entertainment, was permitted to engage in blatant sexual harassment with little to no repercussions. During a company event (an annual convention called Blizz Con) Afrasiabi would hit on female employees, telling him he wanted to marry them, attempting to kiss them, and putting his arms around them. This was in plain view of other male employees, including supervisors, wha had to intervene and pull him off female employees. Afrasiabi was so known to engage in harassment of females that his suite was nicknamed the "Crosby Suite" after alleged r----- Bill Crosby. Afrasiabi would also call females derogatory names at company events. Afrasiabi's conduct was known to Blizzard Entertainment's executives, who took no effective remedial measures. J.Allen Brack, President of Blizzard Entertainment, allegedly had multiple conversations with Afrasiabi about his drinking and that he had been “too friendly" towards female employees at company events but gave Afrasiabi a slap on the wrist (i.e. verbal counseling) in response to these incidents. Subsequently, Afrasiabi continued to make unwanted advances towards female employees, including grabbing a female employee's hand and inviting her to his hotel room and groping another woman.

Hey Rioters, By now, you have probably seen the Kotaku article that was published this aftermoon mentioning my time at Blizzard. A lot of you have reached out to me on Slack, so I thought it might be helpful to share a few thoughts. First and foremost, my heart goes out to anyone at Blizzard who has experienced harassment or discrimination at the company. That has no place in our industry, and even though I'm proud of the progress we've made at Riot, I know that this journey is never over. Secondly, I'm sorry that photos of me in a room that was dubbed "The Cosby Suite" have created a lot of discussion that risks overshadowing the work you're all doing. For some, this is an unwanted distraction, and I know that for others, it has brought up uncomfortable feelings and questions. I owe it to you to address it, so here goes: The suite was a green room at BlizzCon that many of us at the time used to take a break and relax during the convention. Anyone who has been to BlizzCon knows that there is drinking, but I can genuinely say that I never saw or experienced any of the harassment described in the allegations -- and if I had, I absolutely would have stepped in. Looking back, I am embarrassed at the nickname of that room, given all that we know now. At the time in 2013, it was nothing more to me than a silly reference to an old flea-market portrait. I wasn't even aware of Cosby's reputation until after I left Blizzard and the allegations became more well-known, and I certainly would not have tweeted about the suite if I thought was something terrible at the time. All of that said, I understand that the story puts everyone in a tough spot, and I'm sorry for that. I hope my reputation here at Riot and your individual experiences with me give you a strong sense of the person I am and the values I hold. If any of you have questions, l'm happy to chat one-on-one with you any time. My door is always open. Greg

Kotaku @Kotaku Inside Blizzard developers' infamous Bill 'Cosby Suite' bit.ly/3X9U4GI 2:30 PM · Jul 28, 2021 · Sprout Social

Lavender The Woman Who Sold The World @LavenderGhast Blizzard needs to collapse, its rotten to the core. Kotaku @Kotaku · 19h Inside Blizzard developers' infamous Bill 'Cosby Suite' bit.ly/3X9U4GI 2:51 PM · Jul 28, 2021 · Twitter Web App

Kaleb @KalebPrime So, when is Blizzard adding the Cosby Suite to Thorgast? 3:53 PM · Jul 28, 2021 · TweetDeck

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About

Cosby Suite is a nickname given to a hotel room that served as an informal meeting place for Blizzard employees during the BlizzCon 2013 gaming convention. The room, named after comedian and accused rapist Bill Cosby, became a viral subject of discussions in late July 2021 in light of the Activision-Blizzard lawsuit concerning the history of sexual harassment within the company. It is inconclusive whether the nickname was picked as a reference to Cosby's sexual offenses.

Origin

On July 22nd, 2021, news broke that California had officially started the process of suing video game developer and publishing company Activision-Blizzard over troubling incidents discovered during a two-year investigation into sexual harassment and work culture problems at the company.^[1] There was evidence that multiple females within the Blizzard organization were allegedly not being promoted despite long years of working, instead being passed over for less-qualified or less-tenured male colleagues, as well as things that are commonly associated with sexual harassment and anti-female sentiment being commonplace in the company.

In the lawsuit, a hotel room referred to as "Cosby Suit" was mentioned. On July 28th, gaming news website Kotaku published^[2] an article titled "Inside Blizzard Developers’ Infamous Bill ‘Cosby Suite’" in which the "Cosby Suit" was investigated (tweet screenshot and photograph of Blizzard employees with a Bill Cosby portrait shown below, left and right).

The article provided screenshots of social media posts about the suite along with comments made by a number of Blizzard employees (shown below, left and right), including a screenshot of a chat conversation posted by Afrasiabi on Facebook. In the article, the room is described as "a booze-filled meeting place where many, including Afrasiabi, would pose with a portrait of Bill Cosby" and a "hot spot for informal networking at BlizzCon."

Alex Afrasiabi November 7, 2013 Anaheim - 4 Day 0 Preparations made. Cosby Suite in effect. 28 3 Commen O Like O Comment Baller! See you at the show this weekend! Like Reply well done. Like Reply RE3 > Rock Like Reply Write a comment

BlizzCon Cosby Crew Alex Afrasiabi November 11, 2013 Mics were dropped. Dave Kosak: I am gathering the hot chixx for the Coz - with Dave Kosak and Cory Stockton. Dave Kosak and 2 others 2 Comments Alex Afrasiabi: Bring em O Like O Comment Cory Stockton Possibly the greatest group chat in the history of mankind. Cory Stockton: Greg, you otw? Like Reply Dave Kosak: You can't marry ALL of them Alex Lol! Like Reply Alex Afrasiabi: I can, l'm middle Write a comment. eastern. Jesse McCree: You misspelled f--- Greg Street: At hilton bar Jesse McCree: Come up to the COs #)

Origin of the Nickname

It is inconclusive whether the nickname of the suite referenced Cosby's sexual offenses. A source told Kotaku that the name of the suite referenced the comedian's iconic ugly sweaters and did not originally have any sexual connotations, with the running joke being about the suite looking dated like Cosby's sweater. Another source said that the room referenced an ugly boardroom at Blizzard's main office.

On July 28th, 2021, former Blizzard developer Greg Street, now a Riot Games employee, tweeted^[3] a statement in which he said that the suite was a green room for breaks during the convention, writing that he never saw or experienced any of the harassment described in the allegations.

In the Kotaku article, a photograph of a group of women sitting on a bed with the Cosby portrait is described, with one of the women appearing to have a hand on another's breast. Based on the images and two sources with knowledge of Afrasiaibi's predatory behavior, Kotaku concluded that Cosby's reputation was the point why the group of men gathered around the picture.

Spread

A July 28th tweet^[4] by Kotaku linking the article received over 3,600 retweets, 5,500 quote tweets and 13,200 likes in one day.

Starting that day, the Cosby Suite became a viral subject of discussions on social media within the larger topic of the Activision-Blizzard lawsuit. That day, Twitter^[5]^[6] users @R3Z2600 and @DiscordianKitty posted images identifying each of the eight men who took photos next to Bill Cosby's portrait (posts shown below, left and right).

CORY STOCKTON BLIZZARD DAVID KOSAK GREG STREET VP RIOT GAMES DEVIATION GAMES JOSH MOSQUEIRA BONFIRE STUDIOS PAUL CAZAREZ ZENIMAX ONLINE STUDIOS ALEX AFRASIABI BLIZZARD JONATHAN LECRAFT BLIZZARD JESSE MCREE BLIZZARD

Note: while the Kotaku article only identified some people in the photo, several sources have confirmed to us the employees are Alex Afrasiabi, Dave Kosak, Greg Street, Jesse McCree, Cory Stockton, Jonathan LeCraft, Josh Masqueira, Paul Cazarez

A number of viral tweets assuming that the name of the suite was a reference to Cosby's sexual offenses were posted. For example, a Twitter^[7] post by user @jasminericegirl received over 420 retweets and 2,000 likes.

The photograph and the nickname also saw use in memes. For example, on July 28th, Twitter^[8] user @Schizoredditor posted a Wojak / Coomer meme that received over 280 retweets and 5,100 likes.