News Summary:
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Avellone, who has previously worked on games like Respawn’s Jedi: Fallen Order, was accused by women in a series of Twitter posts in June 2020 of being “an abusive, abrasive, and deceptive predator” sex”. After the allegations surfaced, several developers severed ties with the writer, including Dying Light 2 Techland studio.
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Renowned video game writer Chris Avellone has settled a lawsuit against two women who publicly accused him of sexual misconduct and claimed he received a seven-figure payout.
A year later, Avellone announced that he had filed a lawsuit and alleges defamation of the two women. Now, almost two years later, the case has been settled. On Saturday, Avellone announced on his personal blog that the claims had been dismissed with prejudice and that he would receive a seven-figure payment including attorney’s fees.
“Mr Avellone has never sexually abused any of us,” the signed statement said, “We were not aware that he had ever sexually abused a woman. We did not know that Mr. Avellone had ever embezzled company money. Everything we said or wrote about Mr. Avellone was not our intention.
The two women behind the initial allegations, Karissa Barrow and Kelly Rae Bristol, also released a joint statement saying their public statements had been “misunderstood”.
“We want to support women in the industry. In doing so, our wording has been misinterpreted to make specific allegations of undeclared or intentional misconduct. We care about the safety, security, and self-determination of women, minorities, LGBTQIA+ people, and all other communities who have been persecuted in the video game industry.
“We believe Mr. Avellone shares his desire to protect and uplift these communities. We believe he deserves a full return to the industry and we support him in these endeavors.
In her own statement, Avellone wrote: “I appreciate Ms Barrow and Ms Bristol’s willingness to work with us to address issues in the gaming community and their support will be commended.
“We still face many very real challenges, but I am confident that we can overcome them together. “In the spirit of these goals, I ask that everyone respect the privacy of Ms Barrow and Ms Bristol, and use this opportunity as a way to hear all voices for the betterment of our culture and community.”
