Posted in: Games, Video Games | Tagged: battletech, sexual harassment

BattleTech Developer Fired After Sexual Harassment Allegations: "Frankly, Everything Is True"

Harebrained Schemes dismissed designer Tyler Carpenter from the company yesterday after multiple women came forward with allegations of sexual harassment against him. Waypoint is reporting that Carpenter said he resigned, issuing a statement to them:

"My bullshit is not the kind of thing HBS [Harebrained Schemes] stands for or tolerates, and HBS had no idea any of this happened," Carpenter told Waypoint in a statement. "Because of that, for the good of HBS and my victims, I've resigned from HBS effective immediately. There doesn't need to be any inquiry because, frankly, everything is true."

Reportedly, the behavior of which Carpenter has been accused ranges from unwanted groping to aggressive sexually charged messages and inappropriate comments after being told repeatedly to stop.

Cosplayer and streamer Lauren Bond (aka RandomTuesday), who had worked with Carpenter on several projects, described her experience with Carpenter to Waypoint:

"This person repeatedly stated that he had romantic and sexual feelings for me, even after I asked him to stop. […] He openly flirted with me in front of my girlfriend."

Sally Jordan, part of a group of six who played Exalted with Carpenter on stream, said that Carpenter had continually sexually harassed her since their first meeting. She said that among several unwanted sexually suggestive messages he had sent her and comments he'd made, Carpenter once suddenly grabbed her behind at a cast party. From an email she sent to Geek Space TV, the production company that hosted the Exalted stream:

"My immediate knee-jerk reaction was loudly saying, 'No, I don't like that,' […] He laughed and said, 'Too bad, it happened.' He left shortly after that."

Harebrained Schemes issued its own statement on the matter over Twitter, refusing to comment beyond what they had already posted.

Carpenter had been with the company for over three years and was one of the designers behind the new BattleTech game. Currently, there is no word on whether any criminal charges will be laid nor whether any lawsuits will be filed against Carpenter or HareBrained Studios. Carpenter has locked down his Twitter account in the meantime. We'll keep you updated if this story develops.

[Update, June 8, 2018, 4:01 p.m.: Some readers took issue with this article in its original form, as it did not include the experiences of any of the victims nor the fact that Harebrained stated Carpenter's exit was a dismissal, not a resignation as he claimed. We have taken said critique to heart and have updated the article to reflect this information.]

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