Prominent video game author Chris Avellone has settled a lawsuit against two women who publicly accused him of sexual misconduct, claiming he received a seven-figure payment.
Avellone, who previously worked on games like Respawn’s Jedi: Fallen Order, was accused by the women of being “an abusive, aggressive, scheming sex offender” in a series of June 2020 Twitter posts. After the allegations surfaced, several developers severed ties with the author, most notably Dying Light 2 studio Techland.
A year later, Avellone announced he had taken legal action, accusing the two women of defamation. Now, almost two years later, the case is settled.
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On Saturday, Avellone announced on his personal blog that the lawsuits were dismissed unconditionally and that he would receive a seven-figure payment that includes his legal fees.
The two women behind the original allegations, Karissa Barrows and Kelly Rae Bristol, have also released a joint statement claiming their public statements have been “misinterpreted”.
“Mr. Avellone has not sexually abused any of us,” reads the signed statement. “We are not aware that he has ever sexually abused women. We are not aware that Mr. Avellone has ever abused company funds. Anything we what we have said or written about Mr. Avellone before was not our intention.
“We wanted to support women in the industry. In doing so, our words were misinterpreted to suggest specific allegations of wrongdoing that were neither stated nor intended. We are passionate about the safety, security and empowerment of women, minorities, LGBTQIA+ people and any other community that has experienced persecution in the video game industry.
“We believe Mr. Avellone shares a desire to protect and strengthen these communities. We believe he deserves a full return to the industry and support him in that effort.”
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In his own statement, Avellone wrote: “I appreciate the willingness of Ms Barrows and Ms Bristol to work with us to address issues within the gaming community and their advocacy must be commended and supported.
“There are still many very real challenges we face, but I am confident that together we can overcome them.
“In the spirit of those goals, I would ask everyone to respect the privacy of Ms. Barrows and Ms. Bristol and take this opportunity to listen to all voices to improve our culture and our communities.”
