Chris Avellone Lawsuit Settled [Mar 26, 2023, 11:48 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
jdreyer wrote on Mar 27, 2023, 02:26:
I think that's why I'm scratching my head at this case. Even if they lied, what evidence exists that shows malicious intent? There must be something that we're not seeing here. This isn't a judgement on whether the two women did something wrong; it seems likely that they did. My question is, did it rise to the level of libel of a public figure? The women initially seemed honest in their condemnations, so for them to settle this there must be some proof that they not only made stuff up but also did it with the intent of ruining his career? Have we seen evidence of that in this case? Perhaps LegalEagle or someone can shed some light on what likely happened in this case.
Avellone's original blog suggested that their behavior turned on him immediately around the time he had a messy breakup with someone that they were mutual friends with, and had conversations that show that they immediately turned hostile towards him. I'm guessing in those conversations there's enough of a pivot from their previous public and private behavior, or threats or something in there, that the defense attorneys felt that it'd be dangerous to let a jury read them. There is something missing, we'll never know what though unless someone decides to be stupid and releases it.
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