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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Video game designer <keyword id="6631858" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Chris-Avellone">Chris Avellone</keyword> has denied claims he sexually assaulted a woman in 2012.</li><li>Avellone also filed a libel suit against the woman and others, claiming they damaged his reputation and lost him work.</li><li>The woman, Karissa Barrows, said she stood by her story.</li></ul>Chris Avellone, a famed video game designer, has broken a year-long silence to deny accusations that he sexually assaulted a woman at a 2012 convention.Avellone, known for his work on two "Fallout" games and "Planescape: Torment," also <a href="https://d106vg71wiygj.cloudfront.net/eFileAPIFiling/JTI/2021/06/16/4392539_2021_06_16_22_21_04_942_6/Complaint_async.pdf">filed a libel suit</a> in California against the woman, Karissa Barrows, on June 16.Avellone named another woman in the suit who had accused him of groping her, and listed up to 100 unnamed other people as defendants.The suit claims Barrows and others made false accusations that damaged Avellone's reputation, lost him work, and hurt his feelings.Barrows stands by her story.In June 2020, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chris-avellone-video-game-designer-accused-sexual-assault-karissa-2020-6">Barrows claimed on Twitter and subsequently in press interviews that Avellone grabbed her face and forcibly kissed her</a> while she was "blackout drunk" at a 2012 convention. Avellone then tried to put his hand down her pants, but stopped when she said "this isn't a good idea," she alleged to Insider last year.Barrows also claimed Avellone had repeatedly bought her drink refills that evening.At the time, Avellone did not respond to requests for comment from Insider and other publications. He did tweet at Barrows at the time saying he wanted to apologize, but did not go into further detail.On Saturday, he <a href="https://chrisavellone.medium.com/its-come-to-this-chris-avellone-2fe5db836746">published a Medium blog post denying the accusations</a>, calling them "surprising" and "untrue.""I have never violated consent with anyone, ever," he wrote.Avellone said he "made a move to" kiss Barrows, that she "reciprocated," and that they "made out enthusiastically in the hallway outside her room"."After several minutes, Karissa told me it wasn't a good idea (to keep making out in a hotel hallway, which made sense to me), so I stopped and we parted ways."Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ubisoft-faces-new-allegations-of-sexual-harassment-and-toxic-culture-2020-7">Current and former staff at gaming giant Ubisoft make new allegations of sexual harassment and HR failures, warning senior staff exits won't alter 'deep-rooted, toxic' culture</a>He did not comment on the allegations in June 2020 because he "was in a pretty dark place" and wanted to "avoid any contact with the outside world," he wrote.Avellone denied targeting Barrows with drinks. He was "buying rounds for a crowd," he said.Insider asked Avellone about Barrows' claims that he grabbed her face and tried to put his hand down her pants.He told Insider via email that Barrows "had told many versions of her story," referencing tweets she wrote about the incident, her interview with Insider, and an interview with <a href="https://kotaku.com/multiple-women-accuse-games-writer-chris-avellone-of-se-1844135498">gaming publication Kotaku</a>. "I have told one," he added. "What's in my Medium article is my answer and any further discussion on the falsehoods of Karissa's allegations can be had in court."In a <a href="https://chrisavellone.medium.com/ending-silence-c48e86f7c523">separate blog post</a>, Avellone said Barrows' allegations were "malicious."Barrows was angry about a "bad breakup" between him and one of her friends, he wrote.Barrows told Insider she couldn't comment beyond a statement she posted on Twitter. "I stand by my story and the stories of the other women who came forward against him," she wrote. "We did not lie. I will not speak further about this until after it's all handled." <h2>Avellone's lawsuit says his accusers lost him work</h2>The bulk of the lawsuit focuses on Barrows' claims but also names other women who accused Avellone of misconduct, including a previously unnamed woman who said he repeatedly groped her - he identifies her as Kelly Bristol - and other unnamed people that he claims damaged his reputation. Insider could not find contact details for Kelly Bristol to approach her for comment. The Twitter handle Avellone associates with her in the suit is no longer available, and a website bearing her name is private.Following Barrows' accusations in 2020, <keyword id="6357332" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Gaming">gaming</keyword> studios EA, Techland, and Gato Salvaje cut ties with Avellone.In his suit, Avellone said he "lost employment and continues to lose employment" because of the allegations. EA and Gato Salvaje both declined to comment. Techland did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Avellone, as the claimant, will need to show the allegations against him were defamatory. He seeks damages "in an amount appropriate to punish or set an example of Barrows.""I do not want to silence anyone," he wrote on Medium. "I want Karissa's and Kelly's story to be not only heard, but elevated, and I want them to speak more about what happened."

Famed video game designer Chris Avellone has denied allegations of sexual assault and filed a libel lawsuit against his accusers

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Across the last two weeks, video game writer <keyword id="6631858" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Chris-Avellone">Chris Avellone</keyword> has been accused of sexual assault by several women.</li><li>Avellone was one of the writers involved in "<keyword id="9486603" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="star-wars-jedi-fallen-order">Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order</keyword>," a story-driven single-player "<keyword id="61596" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Star-Wars">Star Wars</keyword>" game that sold over 10 million copies.</li><li>A sequel to "Fallen Order" is currently in production, but Avellone is off the project, <keyword id="226172" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="EA">EA</keyword> said. "We take all allegations of harassment and abuse very seriously," the company said in a statement, "and the recent reports that have surfaced are very concerning. EA has no plans to work with Chris Avellone moving forward."</li><li>Avellone has a long history in the video game business, having worked on major franchises like "Fallout" and cofounded <keyword id="1304907" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Obsidian-Entertainment">Obsidian Entertainment</keyword>.</li></ul>Chris Avellone, the writer behind the 2019's "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order" and many other successful video game series, has been accused of sexual assault and inappropriate behavior by several women in the past two weeks."He got me blackout drunk," <a href="https://twitter.com/SJBsMama/status/1274175398985768966">one woman said</a>. "He and two friends somehow got me back to my room, where he pounced in front of the other guys." Another woman, Christy Dena, <a href="https://twitter.com/christydena/status/1274648240613289984">echoed that experience in a public response</a>. Dena said she had "the same kind of scenario in 2013" with Avellone. Following those allegations, Electronic Arts has officially cut ties with Avellone."We take all allegations of harassment and abuse very seriously," a statement from EA sent to Business Insider said. "And the recent reports that have surfaced are very concerning. EA has no plans to work with Chris Avellone moving forward."Avellone is credited with a story credit and as a writing consultant on "Star Wars Jedi: The Fallen Order." The game, developed by EA's Respawn <keyword id="4578" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="entertainment">Entertainment</keyword>, has sold over 10 million copies since launching in November 2019, far exceeding EA's own internal projections. When EA spoke about "Fallen Order" in an investor call earlier this year, CEO Andrew Wilson referred to the game as the "first title in an entirely new franchise." EA isn't the only major video game company to cut ties with Avellone. The Polish game studio Techland <a href="https://twitter.com/TechlandGames/status/1275169717196554240">announced on June 22</a> that it ended its relationship with him on upcoming game "Dying Light 2," <a href="https://twitter.com/GatoStudioGames/status/1275156488143564800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1275156488143564800%7Ctwgr%5E&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftechraptor.net%2Fgaming%2Fnews%2Fchris-avellone-removed-from-games-over-assault-allegationsions">as did Gato Studios</a> which was working with Avellone on a game named "The Waylanders." Avellone did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Following sexual assault allegations, EA is cutting ties with the acclaimed video game writer who worked on the latest 'Star Wars' game

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Chris Avellone, a high-profile video game designer known for his work on "Planescape: Torment" and two "Fallout" games, has been accused of sexual assault.</li><li>One of Avellone's accusers, Karissa, told Business Insider that Avellone forcibly kissed her and then tried to put his hand down her pants while she was "blackout drunk" at a 2012 convention. She says he stopped when she told him "this isn't a good idea."</li><li>Avellone responded to the allegations on Twitter soon after they came to light, saying that he wanted to apologize.</li><li>Avellone has since been silent on social media and did not respond to multiple requests for comment.</li><li>Since allegations involving Avellone surfaced, dozens of other women have accused senior men in the video games industry of sexual <keyword id="6367610" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="harassment">harassment</keyword>, assault, or inappropriate behavior.</li></ul>A woman who accused high-profile video game designer Chris Avellone of sexual assault and helped spark an outpouring of similar claims against senior men in the industry has encouraged other victims of sexual misconduct to come forward.Karissa, who spoke to Business Insider on the condition that her last name was not revealed, made the allegations against Avellone on social media on June 20. Since then, dozens of other women have accused senior men in the industry of sexual harassment and sexual assault.Avellone co-founded Obsidian Entertainment in 2003, and left the studio in 2015. Microsoft acquired the company in 2018.He is best-known for his work on gaming classics like "Planescape: Torment", the "Icewind Dale" series, and two "Fallout" games.Karissa initially said in public <a href="https://twitter.com/SJBsMama/status/1274175397337411586">Twitter posts</a> and in subsequent direct messages with Business Insider that Avellone kept buying her drinks at a convention she was attending in 2012 — eventually, she got "blackout drunk".Avellone then forcibly kissed her, and tried to put his hand down her pants, she said.A friend of Karissa's, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, confirmed to Business Insider that Karissa had told them about the alleged assault in 2014. A different friend confirmed to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-24/video-game-industry-rocked-by-outpouring-of-sexual-misconduct-allegations">Bloomberg</a> that Karissa had told them about the alleged incident a month after it happened.Avellone responded to Karissa's accusations on Twitter in a flurry of tweets on June 20. He said he wanted to apologize but did not comment on specific details of the allegations.He has not tweeted since.He did not respond to multiple emails and direct messages from Business Insider.<h2>'I didn't process what had actually happened until years later'</h2>Karissa alleges that Avellone had assaulted her on the first night they met at a convention in 2012. She was attending the event."I was hanging out with some friends who knew him, and went with them to meet up with him and a couple others. I honestly didn't even know who he was, but I trusted my friends I was with," she said.Avellone was buying everybody drinks, she said, and every time she finished hers, he took her to the bar for a refill."I drink very quickly when I'm thirsty and that place was hot and crowded. I also rarely drink, so given the speed and how many he was encouraging me to have, I didn't realize how far gone I was until I was VERY gone," she wrote in direct messages.Along with two of Karissa's friends, Avellone took her back to her hotel room, she says, "where he pounced in front of the other guys."She said that Avellone forcibly kissed her — "he did not ask, just grabbed my face and went for it" — outside her hotel room. She said her two companions moved to stand out of view of the couple (one later told Karissa he was embarrassed to watch, she said).Avellone then "took me down to the floor [outside the hotel room] at some point while he was making out with me, his back was against the wall and he pulled my back up against him," she told Business Insider. "I remember he had been touching me; when he moved one of his hands from my chest down to undo my pants and slip that hand down into them, that's when I stopped him."Karissa said she was able to stop Avellone by saying, "this isn't a good idea," and that the only reason she felt able to to do so was because she was on her period at the time. "Had I not been, I don't think I would have sobered up enough with the self-consciousness there to refuse him because of how intensely blackout drunk I was."She said she woke up with "no recollection" of what happened — but through her own memories, talking to her two friends, and conversations with Avellone himself, she pieced together the events."The only reason I knew it had gotten to a point where I had to refuse him was because Chris himself told me so when I confronted him about what my friend had told me. I was shocked and offended, but didn't process what had actually happened until years later," she said.She refused Avellone twice more during the convention, and said she was not drunk around him after the first night. She said that he did not push the issue after the two refusals — this "kept me in denial about what was actually going on," she said.Business Insider put the details of Karissa's allegations to Avellone, but he did not respond.A friend of Karissa's told Business Insider that they first heard of the incident in 2014, and that her recent public allegations matched up with the earlier account.Karissa said that, at the same convention, she saw Avellone buying drinks for many other women, too."I personally saw him escorting three different cosplayers, all of whom were extremely petite, away from the bar area towards exits," after which she didn't see him again for quite some time. "He always eventually returned to the bar and started drinking with more women."<h2>Another woman who knew Avellone shared screenshots from an online conversation</h2>Two other women in the industry told Business Insider that they had been warned that Avellone was somebody women should stay away from.One said Avellone was "someone women got warned about at conventions."And on June 21, Jacqui Collins, the public relations lead for the video game "Valorant," <a href="https://twitter.com/jacquicollins_/status/1274509359427383304">posted a screenshot</a> on Twitter from what she says is an online conversation she had with Avellone in 2014. Collins said she regularly spoke to Avellone about pursuing a career in video games.In response to a non-sexual question, Avellone described how he wanted to perform oral sex on Collins."You may have to listen very hard while your hands dig into the sides of my head and force me deep into your pussy," he wrote. "Or we could just talk, too," he added, with a winking emoji.In the same thread of messages, Avellone later apologized and said he owed Collins "a hundred million apologies."In her public June 21 tweet, Collins said that she forgave Avellone at the time. "I never forgot about it, though. I always kind of regretted forgiving it. I remained friendly with Chris after, I'm sorry if that in any way enabled him to harm others. I was in a relationship at the time. Chris knew," she wrote.A former colleague of Avellone, who worked with him for several years, described him as a "ladies' man" who sometimes stepped over the line. The colleague remembered his female friends describing Avellone as creepy on multiple occasions.On June 20, Avellone tweeted that he wanted to apologize to Karissa."I'm trying to apologize, but you blocked me, so I'm doing my best," he said in one reply to Karissa.Avellone also appeared to suggest he deserved public criticism, telling a supportive fan they were "showing way too much care for someone you should be canceling, which gives me hope for human nature. That said, Please cancel me at once."<h2>Gaming firms cut ties with Avellone after the allegations came to light</h2>Some of the studios Avellone has worked with cut ties with him after the accusations came to light.Avellone's recent credits include 2019's "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order," and 2017's "Divinity: Original Sin II."Industry giant Electronic Arts, which published "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order", told Business Insider it had "no plans" to work with Avellone again."We take all allegations of harassment and abuse very seriously and the recent reports that have surfaced are very concerning. EA has no plans to work with Chris Avellone moving forward," the statement said.Techland, a Polish game developer that's working on the upcoming game "Dying Light 2," also ended its relationship with Avellone."We treat matters of sexual harassment and disrespect with utmost care, and have no tolerance for such behaviours," it <a href="https://twitter.com/TechlandGames/status/1275169717196554240">said in a statement published on Twitter on June 22</a>. "This is why, together with Chris Avellone, we've decided to end our cooperation."Karissa told Business Insider in Twitter messages that she was "horrified and sickened" by the sheer number of women coming forward.But she was also "inspired" by their courage, and said she hoped others would come forward to help "oust" harassers and abusers."I hope this gives more victims the courage to come forward, as it has with those who have already shared their experiences," she said, adding: "Think of how many other predators/harassers/abusers in the industry are still flying under the radar! Every single woman I know has been at *least* sexually harassed, if they've been lucky enough to avoid assault and/or abuse. Every. Single. One."She added that victims should feel encouraged to speak out publicly. "I would encourage those in the industry to confront anyone they hear about and hold them accountable."She continued: "It is FAR past time to oust the gatekeepers, the harassers, the abusers, the predators, especially if they're in positions of power. They have NO place in this industry or any other. The only place they belong, as far as I'm concerned, is therapy or jail until they've made a true change in themselves."Get them ALL OUT."Additional reporting by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/ben-gilbert">Benjamin Gilbert</a>.If you have been sexually assaulted, harassed, or otherwise harmed during your time in the video games industry, we want to hear from you. Contact Business Insider associate editor Samuel Horti via encrypted messaging app Signal (+447801504020), encrypted email (<a href="mailto:shortiBI@protonmail.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">shortiBI@protonmail.com</a>), standard email (<a href="mailto:shorti@businessinsider.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">shorti@businessinsider.com</a>), or Twitter DM (<a href="https://twitter.com/SamuelHorti" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">@SamuelHorti</a>). We can keep sources anonymous. Use a non-work device to reach out. PR pitches by standard email only, please.

A woman who accused video game designer Chris Avellone of sexual assault opens up about her allegations and says it's time to oust abusers from the industry

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Famed video game designer Chris Avellone has denied allegations of sexual assault and filed a libel lawsuit against his accusers

Samuel Horti

Following sexual assault allegations, EA is cutting ties with the acclaimed video game writer who worked on the latest 'Star Wars' game

Ben Gilbert

A woman who accused video game designer Chris Avellone of sexual assault opens up about her allegations and says it's time to oust abusers from the industry

Samuel Horti

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