Chris Avellone Lawsuit Settled [Mar 26, 2023, 10:48 am ET] – Share – Viewing Comments
A
post on Medium by Chris Avellone announces a lawsuit he filed over sexual
predation allegations has been dismissed with prejudice. He says this has
resulted in his attorney's fees being refunded and a "seven-figure payout"
despite describing it as a "confidential settlement." The post shares what is
purported to be a joint statement from Kelly Bristol and Karissa Barrows, two
women who had accused the embattled developer of sexual misconduct. Avellone
filed a libel suit against Barrows, Bristol, and 100 Jane Does
in 2021 after
their
allegations he engaged in sexual predation. Avallone later filed
another suit against just
Barrows for defamation. The backlash immediately cost him work, including his
consultant roles on Dying Light 2 and Bloodlines 2. Chris goes on
to speak about real challenges the industry still needs to face. He also
expresses appreciation for "the willingness of Ms. Barrows and Ms. Bristol to
work with us in addressing issues within the game community," which seems odd.
He asks that everyone respect the privacy of Barrows and Bristol going forward.
Here is the included statement:
“After engaging with Mr. Avellone, we have prepared the following statement:
Mr. Avellone never sexually abused either of us. We have no knowledge that he has ever sexually abused any women. We have no knowledge that Mr. Avellone has ever misused corporate funds. Anything we have previously said or written about Mr. Avellone to the contrary was not our intent. We wanted to support women in the industry. In so doing, our words have been misinterpreted to suggest specific allegations of misconduct that were neither expressed nor intended. We are passionate about the safety, security and agency of women, minorities, LGBTQIA+ persons, and every other community that has seen persecution in the video game industry. We believe Mr. Avellone shares a desire to protect and uplift those communities. We believe that he deserves a full return to the industry and support him in those endeavors.”
- Karissa Barrows, Kelly Rae Bristol
Acleacius wrote on Mar 26, 2023, 22:41:
Imo, the original allegations seemed real because of the way it was handled in the beginning.
Right but "seemed real" does not equate to "are real". Any corposhill worth their weight in water would look at the company's exposure risk and pick one of two options:
1. Fully cooperate with an investigation if they knew for a fact that they have 100% clean hands. This puts them in the best possible PR and legal light. It means their exposure risk is 0.
2. Evaluate what they know, and more importantly have documented (which will absolutely be compelled), and determine what the risk to their reputation, income, finances, and growth are. If the risk is smaller to fight it out in court, they will always pick that route 100% of the time. It costs them less, overall, in legal fees. They also know that they have the resources, generally, to outlast a single complainant or even a group of complainants if that group is smaller than N in legal proceedings. They also know to cut their risk vector early and swiftly by firing an employee. The employee may not actually be guilty of the accusations but that's not the point. The point is the optics of it. That's part of any basic risk assessment.
I'm not in the "instantly believe all accusations" camp. That, to me, defies basic logic and rigor. I operate under the presumption of innocence until facts prove otherwise. Bandwagoning is a thing, especially in the era of social media and neo-yellow journalism.
As far as I know, there are no lawsuits pending against Avellone's previous employers or Avellone himself at this time. Which means there are no complainants who are willing to actually put their allegations to the court for resolution. So they remain unfounded accusations with no real proof of their merit.
I can accuse you of kicking puppies and sodomizing goats on Twatter. Does that make it true?
"Just take a look around you, what do you see? Pain, suffering, and misery." -Black Sabbath, Killing Yourself to Live.
“Man was born free, and he is everywhere in chains” -Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Purveyor of cute, fuzzy, pink bunny slippers.
“Man was born free, and he is everywhere in chains” -Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Purveyor of cute, fuzzy, pink bunny slippers.
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