Sexual Harassment Allegations In The Game Industry Have Exploded Overnight
Reports started coming in of predatory men in the industry, affecting women, minors and more, with stories spanning over a decade.
News by Daavpuke on Jun 22, 2020
If you've been enjoying a weekend away from life, by playing The Last of Us 2 for instance, you may have missed some of the most tumultuous times in the video game industry, since 2014. Y'all might want to grab a seat and get some reading glasses for this one.
A few days ago, reports started coming in of predatory men in the industry, affecting women, minors and more, with stories spanning over a decade. By the time of writing, a compiled list found on Medium has amassed well over a dozen names. These allegations span a wide gamut of professions in the industry, with lots of streamers and YouTube personalities being accused. There are too many to chronicle here, which is its own problem, so please take the time to check the list for names of people whose content you may consume.
Some of the more notable men to be named include Angry Joe and Syndicate, also known as Tom Cassell. The former is stated to have used their fame and standing to coerce someone into explicit situations. For Cassell, however, things are even worse. Syndicate is accused of rape, from testimonies of several people. You may remember the name Syndicate from prior transgressions with not paying artists for their work, not properly disclosing their affiliation with horror game Dead Realm and, of course, the gambling for Counter-Strike skins fiasco that altered the Steam economy forever.
Another, less public facing name with allegations on their collar is Omeed Dariani, the CEO of an agency for online talent, called Online Performance Group (OPG). Once again, the story accuses the man of using their power and position to force sexually explicit propositions on someone. Since the story unfolded, Dariani has stepped down as CEO of the company and several of the high-ranking talents have cut ties with the agency. The departures include real-life couple Dexbonus and Strippin.
Once again, it should be stressed that there are a lot more stories in the aforementioned thread. Please do take some time to read whatever you can, keeping your mental health in mind, because a lot of the stories are traumatising. It is important to know what the reality for folks is, when engaging with men who have platforms in the game industry. If we can't recognize the troublesome signs or dismiss them, the space will never be welcoming to others. We owe it to folks to believe them, protect them and make them feel comfortable in a passion we all share.
Daav Valentaten, NoobFeed
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