Chris Avellone ‘awarded seven-figure payment’ after sexual harrasment claims settled

Prominent video game writer Chris Avellone has settled a lawsuit against two women who had publicly accused him of sexual misconduct, and claimed he’s been awarded a seven-figure payment.

Avellone, who has previously worked on games such Respawn’s Jedi: Fallen Order, was accused in a series of June 2020 Twitter posts by the women as being “an abusive, abrasive, conniving sexual predator”. After the allegations arose, multiple developers cut ties with the writer, notably Dying Light 2 studio Techland.

A year later, Avellone announced he had taken legal action and accused the two women of libel. Now, nearly two years on, the case has been settled.

On Saturday, Avellone announced on his personal blog that the claims had been dismissed with prejudice and that he was to receive a seven-figure payment which includes his attorney fees.

The two women behind the original allegations, Karissa Barrows and Kelly Rae Bristol, have also released a joint statement claiming that their public statements had been “misinterpreted”.

“Mr. Avellone never sexually abused either of us,” the signed statement reads. “We have no knowledge that he has ever sexually abused any women. We have no knowledge that Mr. Avellone has ever misused corporate funds. Anything we have previously said or written about Mr. Avellone to the contrary was not our intent.

“We wanted to support women in the industry. In so doing, our words have been misinterpreted to suggest specific allegations of misconduct that were neither expressed nor intended. We are passionate about the safety, security and agency of women, minorities, LGBTQIA+ persons, and every other community that has seen persecution in the video game industry.

“We believe Mr. Avellone shares a desire to protect and uplift those communities. We believe that he deserves a full return to the industry and support him in those endeavors.”

In his own statement, Avellone wrote: “I appreciate the willingness of Ms. Barrows and Ms. Bristol to work with us in addressing issues within the game community, and their advocacy is to be commended and supported.

“There are still many very real challenges that we face but am confident we can face them together.

“In the spirit of these goals, I would ask everyone to respect the privacy of Ms. Barrows and Ms. Bristol and use this opportunity as a means to listen to all voices in improving our culture and our communities.”