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Julian Murillo-Cueller, an ex-staff member at Blizzard Entertainment, has claimed in a post on TwitLonger that he suffered racial abuse and discrimination during his time at the studio, resulting his decision to leave the company.
The former employee spoke of how he suffered from suicidal thoughts as a result of the abuse, and said that he thought his health 'would never recover during my time at Blizzard.'
'During December 2017, I reached out to the [Equal Employment Opportunity Commission], hoping to get a resolution should Blizzard fail, and that’s when I realized of the statute of limitations regarding my racial discrimination and abuse,' he wrote. 'I didn’t have much to go by and my case would be dismissed…'
Murillo-Cueller's LinkedIn profile reveals that he joined the Diablo creator back in 2013, although issues first began to rear their head in 2016, when he was part of the Esports Team for Hearthstone.
He soon had the opportunity to go full-time, after which he reveals he was left out of important meetings and was subjected to jokes by a colleague 'about my sexism, or natural inclination to be sexist, due to my [Mexican] heritage.'
'The assumption because that… my attitudes, beliefs were that of a Mexican machista (male chauvinist). I didn't make much of this since she said it 'in jest' but this would weigh on me,' he commented.
This abuse become more frequent as time went on, to the point where Murillo-Cueller revealed he was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. As a result, he broached the topic with his manager.
'I was told I was being moody, and that nobody knew how to approach me… When I told him what was happening I was told to not pay attention and that he would take care of it. That wouldn't be the case and the racial attacks continued.'
Over the next few years, Murillo-Cueller's health would continue to deteriorate as the abuse went on as well as the fact he would regularly work into the early hours of the morning. He later suffered panic attacks and nervous breakdowns, which lead to him contemplating suicide in December 2017.
Despite raising the issue with his superiors on a weekly basis, virtually nothing was done to resolve the abuse. Murillo-Cueller would ultimately leave Blizzard Entertainment in April of last year.
I want to start off by thanking everyone for the kindness. At first I wrote this out of anger, and as I wrote…out of closure. If there's a takeaway: You're not alone. Reach out. And if you have suicidal thoughts: share with someone you love. You'll never walk alone.
— Jules M.C. (@Psychlolis) January 8, 2019
