The video game developer for “Halo Infinite” is under fire for rolling out a new nameplate to honor Juneteenth… people are furious that the customization is named after a monkey.
The folks at 343 Industries apparently thought it would be a good idea to title the nameplate — a palette adding a red, black, and green colorway to a player’s username — “Bonobo”… which is a primate in Endangered.
The problem is… people were angry at the monkeys’ association with Juneteenth, given the racist and discriminatory history between those words and black people.
As you know…Juneteenth is now a federal holiday, commemorating the day the last enslaved Americans heard the news President Lincoln abolished slavery.
In response to the backlash, the video game developer renamed the nameplate to “Freedom” and then to “Juneteenth”.
343 Industries claims that the nameplate was originally called “Bonobo” in reference to a development tool – and they claim this was an oversight on their part.
Bonnie Ross, founder and head of 343 Industries, said that once made aware that the nameplate “contained an offensive and hurtful term”, they immediately made a change with an update to the game.
Ross adds…”We are a studio and franchise committed to inclusivity where everyone is welcome and supported to be themselves. On behalf of 343, I apologize for making a time celebrated a hurtful moment.”
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