Xbox Brazil presenter alleges she was fired because she was the victim of online harassment

A former Xbox Brazil presenter has alleged that she was dismissed from her role because she was the victim of online harassment.

In a social media post (translated by a Resetera user), Isadora Basile claimed that she suffered a torrent of online abuse after she started her job with Xbox Brazil in early September, including death threats.

According to Basile, Microsoft believed the best option was to sever ties with her as a host so she would not be subjected to further abuse.

A day after Basile announced she had been let go, a tweet from Xbox Brazil claimed her departure was the result of changes to its original content strategy.

“We made some changes to our original Xbox content strategy in Brazil, resulting in fewer channels,” it said. “We thank Isadora Basile and the agency’s talented team for their creativity and contribution to Xbox News.

“The Xbox Wire portal becomes our only source of high impact news and content,” it added. “The XboxBR channel will continue to experiment with new ways to entertain Brazilian gamers.”

Carol Costa, an assistant editor at IGN Brazil, claimed Basile isn’t the first Xbox Brazil presenter to have been dismissed under similar circumstances.

Earlier this year Xbox pulled its branding from the social media channels of popular Brazilian content creator Mil Grau, who had been using his influence to promote racist, sexist and homophobic material.

Further reading

10

Xbox pulls branding from YouTuber who posted racist and sexist content

Firm distances itself from Brazilian content creator Mil Grau following complaints

Explaining its decision at the time, Xbox Brazil said the content of the account in question did not reflect its “fundamental values of respect, diversity and inclusion”.

While it moved to distance itself from the YouTube channel in question, Xbox Brazil was criticised for taking so long to do so, and it’s decision may even have been prompted by an intervention from Xbox boss Phil Spencer, who had reportedly promised to ensure the matter was properly investigated.