Word is that Jessica Nigri, a big-time cosplayer hired to portray the protagonist of Lollipop Chainsaw, was asked to leave the PAX East show floor yesterday. Why, you ask? Oh, I don't know. Maybe that hot pink jumpsuit with a "neckline" plunging to her crotch has something to do with it.


She's back today (here is Nigri, as Juliet Starling, at the Lollipop Chainsaw booth.) But Destructoid first reported that she was "asked to leave the show floor" until she had changed out of that pink outfit at right. But after changing back to the Juliet Starling costume, at left—which she had worn all Friday with no issue—she was asked to change again or leave the show entirely.


Nigri's Twitter feed does reference something like this. "Haha guys! I just had to tone down the costume!" she tweeted this morning.

Robert Khoo, the president of business development for Penny Arcade, verified to Kotaku that Nigri was asked to change, or leave the show floor, because expo staff had received plenty of complaints about her attire, or lack of it.

Khoo said expo staff "notified the WB booth on Friday of our concerns regarding the costumes, and although there was some confusion initially about which outfit was appropriate ... they understood the situation."

Penny Arcade has had a "no booth babe" policy at its expos, not wishing them to be known for models in skimpy clothes hawking products, as they do at other events in the video gaming industry. Two years ago, that policy was put to a vote of its community, which largely reaffirmed the idea. Costumed representatives are required to know something about their product. There is to be "no messaging that specifically calls out body parts," and while "cosplayed characters are allowed to wear revealing outfits, assuming it is true to the source game," there is a ban on anything considered "partial nudity." This policy still is in place, Khoo said.


"Although the policies regarding appropriate attire are clearly laid out in our exhibitor rules, there are times when edge cases like Lollipop Chainsaw, which technically is allowed since it's the main character in the game, pop up," Khoo told Kotaku. "For scenarios like that, we need to make a judgment call, and a big factor for this one was looking at the number of complaints we had received."


"Ultimately the costume policy is designed to keep the show family friendly, as we see a good number of parents being their young children to the show," Khoo said. "No one, including WB, wants to upset their fans, so I'm perfectly fine standing behind the decision and policy."

Clarification: This story originally indicated, in parts, that Nigri was asked to leave PAX if she didn't change. Penny Arcade's Khoo clarified to us that she was asked to change or step off the floor (technically, to restrict her presence to a demo area inside a bus in the game's booth). While this means she would possibly not be seen by showgoers had she not complied, she technically wouldn't have been gone from PAX.