@bhlaab: While not defending the dood, all that stuff sounds a LOT worse when written out and put to bullet points in a list than when it was probably said in passing as a joke over the course of working together. Some people have a dirty sense of humor and he was probably taking it a bit far, but that also probably stems from him having a slightly larger ego for owning the company. Also I wonder if the actual legal document uses the term "..glancing down at her boobs."

So what I understand so far, is that this Wardell guy, is a real sleazy creep. He engages in said sleazy, creepy behaviour, and gets offended when it's pointed out to him, claiming that "being a creep towards my employees" is a lawful, justifiable course of action because he owns his own business.

Alright, great, thank you Wardell. Thank you for further proving that you are a total maniac. Now, any lawyer who had something better to do, would drop his case right here. Fortunately, Wardell digs his own hole deeper by... going on a random forum and talking about his problems in the way that teenagers do?

He even likens sexual harrassment to his bad video game. This is great. This is also why PR people exist, to shut up lunatics like him and calmly repeat the mantra "We have nothing to say at the current time, but we are working very hard to find a resolution with the involved parties."

@Incapability said:

So what I understand so far, is that this Wardell guy, is a real sleazy creep. He engages in said sleazy, creepy behaviour, and gets offended when it's pointed out to him, claiming that "being a creep towards my employees" is a lawful, justifiable course of action because he owns his own business.

Alright, great, thank you Wardell. Thank you for further proving that you are a total maniac. Now, any lawyer who had something better to do, would drop his case right here. Fortunately, Wardell digs his own hole deeper by... going on a random forum and talking about his problems in the way that teenagers do?

He even likens sexual harrassment to his bad video game. This is great. This is also why PR people exist, to shut up lunatics like him and calmly repeat the mantra "We have nothing to say at the current time, but we are working very hard to find a resolution with the involved parties."

I suggest re-reading the article a few times, because I think you missed a lot of it.

@Incapability said:

So what I understand so far, is that this Wardell guy, is a real sleazy creep. He engages in said sleazy, creepy behaviour, and gets offended when it's pointed out to him, claiming that "being a creep towards my employees" is a lawful, justifiable course of action because he owns his own business.

Alright, great, thank you Wardell. Thank you for further proving that you are a total maniac. Now, any lawyer who had something better to do, would drop his case right here. Fortunately, Wardell digs his own hole deeper by... going on a random forum and talking about his problems in the way that teenagers do?

He even likens sexual harrassment to his bad video game. This is great. This is also why PR people exist, to shut up lunatics like him and calmly repeat the mantra "We have nothing to say at the current time, but we are working very hard to find a resolution with the involved parties."

Slow news week huh?

Who do you root for when both sides are fronted by terrible people..

@dvorak: Word

And even if he developed something, even if it was a story about notch being a total pervert, who gives a shit? Its the video games they make that matter.

I hate this crap journalism of shifting through people's trash for a headline.

Bitch be crazy.

I don't care about either party. The real victim here was Elemental. That game was supposed to be cool, damnit.

Wow he did a great job of proving he's a douchebag here.

Even if the boss is a power-tripping asshole, how could you be so stupid/crazy to do something that you would invariably be sued to hell and back for, while somehow hoping that the sexual harassment case would just make it all go away?

They both sound like terrible people.

@gaminginpublic said:

Touching someone's hair is not assault. Anyone who says otherwise is a moron.

Actually, it is under the common legal definition of assault (hint, it isn't limited to attacking someone). Basically, touching someone without their permission. And the claim is that he was running his hand through it, which is a more intimate gesture. Just needed to clarify this because, as someone who works in emergency medicine, it's a textbook thing that you request consent before making contact with people in any way, because people in this country will sue over any damn thing if they think there's money in it.

Anyway, she's suing him for harassment, not assault. Which would seem reasonable... except the rest of the stuff in that list is kinda ridiculous and makes her sound just crazy. Bah.

@Humanity said:

@bhlaab: While not defending the dood, all that stuff sounds a LOT worse when written out and put to bullet points in a list than when it was probably said in passing as a joke over the course of working together. Some people have a dirty sense of humor and he was probably taking it a bit far, but that also probably stems from him having a slightly larger ego for owning the company. Also I wonder if the actual legal document uses the term "..glancing down at her boobs."

I remember when this website used to be about videogames

@Dagbiker: This guy sounds pretty cool, too bad he wasn't able to guess the success of his game instead.

@tehsorrow said:

I remember when this website used to be about videogames

Yeah, I'm getting tired of reading kotaku stuff on here...

Comparing Kotaku to an actually decent news site is like comparing my arm and my leg.

Both may look similar, but they're not the same and I can't use one for the other.

@vinster345 said:

@Dredlockz said:

How is this video-games related?

Kotaku will write the most shit stories, I hope Giant bomb wont start doing the same.

If you can't see how this is video games related, then I worry for you sir/madam.

Some pervert is getting sued by a stuck-up lady, how is that video game related? I don't care if all game makers are pedophiles, I just care about interesting high-quality games, and opinions on those games. Thats why I come here and not Kotaku, but I guess you guys clearly think the drama of some employees in whatever company is somehow relevant to your lives, kinda sad.

@Dredlockz said:

@vinster345 said:

@Dredlockz said:

How is this video-games related?

Kotaku will write the most shit stories, I hope Giant bomb wont start doing the same.

If you can't see how this is video games related, then I worry for you sir/madam.

Some pervert is getting sued by a stuck-up lady, how is that video game related? I don't care if all game makers are pedophiles, I just care about interesting high-quality games, and opinions on those games. Thats why I come here and not Kotaku, but I guess you guys clearly think the drama of some employees in whatever company is somehow relevant to your lives, kinda sad.

I just don't see why this is the front page about a website about video games. This is a lawsuit between an employee and an employer and it'll be settled in a court of law. The only thing game-related about this is the people involved work/own a game company and apparently the woman deleted some assets that made the launch a failure.(?)

But why is that any of my business? I come here for videos and articles about games and the industry that makes them. What I'm not interested in however is reading a news article anytime someone sues somebody over something just because they're part of X game company and its barely related to any game.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not supporting what he allegedly did. I'm not even commenting on it. That's none of my business. That is for a court of law and lawyers to figure out and deal with. I'm just here to read interesting articles about the hobby/culture I enjoy with maybe some humor thrown in.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that as a person reading this site for the reasons I do, I hope these articles do not become the norm. People sue, usually for the right reasons but we're becoming a little trigger happy with the lawyer button lately.

I just don't want to see GiantBomb flooded with articles that are less and less game related and more flavor of the month who sued who articles. Grabbing onto any random article and posting it just because "oh they made a game once" is something Kotaku does and its the reason I rarely read that site anymore. Granted as I say this there is an article about Triple H's hair on the front page, but I believe that is an entirely different thing.

I sound like I'm bitching and I hate that. So I'll stop. I mean no offenses, I guess I just expect better articles from Giant Bomb.

I hate reading comments on any website. These kind of articles are OK by me.

It still continues to be so disappointing to see dudes defend sexual harassment

@Dredlockz said:

@dvorak: Word

And even if he developed something, even if it was a story about notch being a total pervert, who gives a shit? Its the video games they make that matter.

I hate this crap journalism of shifting through people's trash for a headline.

If you're only looking for the latest details on the latest game releases, you can just go visit a site that regurgitates press releases. No journalism required.

This article here? This thing? It's called journalism, because it involves researching a subject, checking and cross-checking sources, interviewing people, and then writing about it and posting it on the internet. Yes, it's unfortunate that sometimes journalism results in subject matter that makes you uncomfortable or doesn't precisely match what you happened to be looking for when you went to a website, but it's not a journalist's job to make you comfortable. Not everything that turns up when a person like Patrick goes digging will be heartwarming stories about a successful indie developer or cool unannounced game details. Sometimes it's the unpleasant details behind failed game launches and disintegrating studios.

Where would you draw the line? Do you think the stories about the collapse of 38 studios and the reasons behind it didn't have merit either? What about the backstory behind the long development history of Fez? Game development isn't pretty. If you actually want to know about it and what goes on, you'll see stories like this. If you don't want to know, that's your choice, but you'll have a hard time separating this stuff - the reality of development - from the games.

Wardell is a fucking prick. Christ. What a grade-A piece of shit. Someone comes to you with a concern, especially one as serious as sexual harassment, and THAT is how he responds. Fuck him. Hope this shakes out as bad as it possibly can for him.

Even putting the sexual harassment charges to a side, he shows his colors as someone no one should ever have to put up with in some of those mails and various forum posts.

Pfeh.

Yo dog if you make Robot Chicken references in the office you should literally go to jail. Skip the civil litigation and be criminally prosecuted.

@Animasta said:

@buzz_killington said:

If someone is offended by a stupid online test that gets mass-forwarded around any office, then they should leave. Or people can stop being uptight, and have a laugh at a stupid online test they got forwarded.

yeah that email was forwarded to her specifically so don't even go there

You know that for a fact????

@Kidavenger said:

THE SEXIST PIG HOW DARE HE E-MAIL THIS TO... wait, Jeff? Oh, I'm sorry, Jeff? Are you sure he didn't mean Jeanie? No? Jeff? Ok, so I guess...

Animasta, I stated nothing as a fact, but you were sounding like a fucking insider. You just lost all credibility, and everything you have to say about this topic is now BULLSHIT.

@CircleNine said:

@buzz_killington: Thank god that forum goer buzz killington is here to tell all the ladies whats what in terms of being harassed. I'm sure ladies around the world are waiting with bated breath for your words of wisdom.

Nope, they were waiting for The Defender of All Women's Rights All Around the World, CircleNine, to come into the discussion like a white knight and defend their honor. Grow the fuck up. We're all just stating opinions, and I happen to feel strongly about this topic. Look at the post above. If a whole bunch of people at Stardock, including a dude named Jeff, got that online test forwarded to them, how is that SEXUAL harassment, you fucking dope? When there is no distinction between his behaviour between the two SEXES, how is he SEXIST? Juvenile, crass may be better words.

Also, I love how all the dudes yelling "e-mail = rape" have creepy anime girl avatars.

-Patrick whipping up more Kotaku-tier "games journalism"

-Animasta blindly defending women

-People getting angry on the internet about non-issues

-Taking sides when both parties are in the wrong

-Comments implying "heterosexual white males" aren't allowed to share their opinions

-More gender politics bullshit instead of video game discussion on a video game website

Just another day on Giant Bomb

touching her hair doesnt sound like a sexual assault to me, well, it maybe inapprobiate, but nothing too serious. wiping out all of that data, well, that is a really mean & stupid thing to do.

she should get jail time for destroying other peoples work like that.

Hey gamers, maybe you should pay attention to how shitty, misogynistic, racist, and homophobic your subculture is if you don't think that this story isn't indicative of gaming culture as a whole. Gaming culture is fucking awful. If you can't figure out why that is after reading the comments from this story, maybe you're part of the problem. Racism isn't funny. Sexually harassing people isn't funny. Homophobia isn't funny. If the best you can do is splutter and defend them as edgy humor rebelling against "soulless pc robots" you're a piece of shit.

The dude is a completely worthless piece of shit for trying to shut her up by bringing up a lawsuit against her when this is finally properly filed and going to court. His motivations seems to be pretty transparent here.

Workplaces that are fun and casual can actually manage to not be playgrounds for some rich piece of shit to sexually harass whomever he wants to.

@CircleNine said:

Racism isn't funny. Sexually harassing people isn't funny. Homophobia isn't funny.

Fucking finally, someone said it. Add to the list: Slavery, Hunger, 9/11, Cancer, AIDS. I forget the rest.

@buzz_killington said:

@CircleNine said:

Racism isn't funny. Sexually harassing people isn't funny. Homophobia isn't funny.

Fucking finally, someone said it. Add to the list: Slavery, Hunger, 9/11, Cancer, AIDS. I forget the rest.

Literally everything on that list has been made funny, the majority by Louis C.K. You can throw in rape too.

"Wardell is continuing to contribute to the thread, which is an interesting legal tactic." = Stardock's lawyers saying "wtf".

I may not know what really went down, but the timing of Stardock's case against her seems to say a lot.

@buzz_killington said:

Animasta, I stated nothing as a fact, but you were sounding like a fucking insider. You just lost all credibility, and everything you have to say about this topic is now BULLSHIT.

You're acting like that is news. Sometimes I think I'm straight up reading somebody trolling under the guise of The Femnazi stereotype. Sadly, that doesn't seem to be the case. :(

Oh yeah, to whomever says rape is never funny

One last thing I have to say about all of this, courtesy of the Late and Great Patrice O'Neal:

OUTRAGE

"...culminating at a May 2010 dinner where Wardell reportedly touched her..."

Man, I bet this guy is going to be a fucking creep. I can't believe people would just randomly touch someone like that.

"...hair."

@buzz_killington: I miss Patrice so much. I'd post more pertient vids including him, but with how so many of the mods of this board can't seem to comprehend humour, I'll refrain.

@TeflonBilly said:

@buzz_killington said:

Animasta, I stated nothing as a fact, but you were sounding like a fucking insider. You just lost all credibility, and everything you have to say about this topic is now BULLSHIT.

You're acting like that is news. Sometimes I think I'm straight up reading somebody trolling under the guise of The Femnazi stereotype. Sadly, that doesn't seem to be the case. :(

Oh yeah, to whomever says rape is never funny

Well in this case it's a man being raped.

So who cares, right?

Also, RIP Patrice.

We need more people to be authorities on funny.

Ok, the guy sounds like an annoying arsehole who's obsessed with sex. I wouldn't want to work for him.

But then again he does own the company, if I were in his position I wouldn't appreciate an employee sending me a letter with bullet-points outlining what I can and can't do in the future. She has the option to leave and try to find another job, it seems unfair I know but that's life - he owns the company. If the lady in question wants to work in an environment that's run in an entirely professional manner and to her own liking she should start her own company up. That way she can have everything exactly how she wants it.

In the mean-time he can run Stardock pretty much how he likes, provided it's within the law.

Which is something the lady in question failed to do herself when she allegedly destroyed those materials.

Seems like a pretty clear cut case of sexual harassment to me. This case will not go well for him.

As for the countersuit, all I've seen reported is his claims of "deleted marketing materials" and other folks saying "nope." Unless he has something more substantial, he's going to have a tough time meeting his burden of proof.

Whatever though, I don't know anything about either of these people. What I do know is that the game was utter shit and it had nothing to do with its marketing.

@jesterroyal said:

Never go anywhere outside of work with your boss/employees. Ever. Moral of the story. They can sue you too easily. Just.. weird. I don't know either of these people enough to make a value judgement on them. But if she wiped those assets she deserves to pay for it. And if he truly assaulted her he also deserves to pay.

Most people do not have this option, unfortunately. There are many after hours events at my job that I am expected to participate in. Some are in an official context, some are not. Given the quotes I've read I am sure it is not a stretch that Mr. Wardell would be quite frank about what events his employees could and could not consider optional. The quote of his e-mail response is very telling as to what type of boss he is. For better or worse he has definitely gotten himself and his company into this position.

Put quite simply you can either be a nice guy or a jerk. Based on the telling, I'm not so sure Brad is being a nice guy, and look what happened.

From a personal perspective I am glad I do not work with or for people like him. I'm at a smaller company that is also "relaxed" and not just because the owner wants to behave however he sees fit. I am sure many of the things that pass between various employees where I work would probably be right at home in some kind of harassment case. The difference is that no one is disrespectful and everyone understands what limits there are. Most importantly no one's feelings get hurt, even if on accident. Even if its "just teasing". Be nice or be a jerk but be ready to end up in court if you're a jerk.

@CaptStickybeard said:

Well in this case it's a man being raped.

So who cares, right?

Also, RIP Patrice.

We need more people to be authorities on funny.

Oh yeah, you're right! Here, have some rape on female, AIDS and newborn murder.

People are very quick to judge others without nuanced context or further details...I guess that's why Religion, current forms of Governance, Imperialism and general subjugation of large quantities of people occurs.

Also, this is endemic of society as a whole, not just video game or the "gaming culture". The problems of gender roles, politics and sexual harassment, misogyny or misandry will continue to exist in this current societal paradigm.

oh look.

Witness statements found in the response from Miseta's attorneys, however, contradict the claim. One employee specifically testified in her deposition that Miseta gave her a week's advance notice that she would be leaving Stardock, so that she "knew where [Miseta's] files were" and had access to relevant Google docs. Others had no recollection of Wardell or HR manager Angela Marshall (Wardell's sister-in-law) ever mentioning missing documents causing trouble with Elemental.

A former Stardock employee, speaking with Kotaku on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that a mere two weeks before launch, Elemental had many technical issues that had nothing to do with its marketing. The employee also added that at the time, nobody mentioned any materials having gone missing or any sabotage having taken place and showed Kotaku communications from Wardell that indicated satisfaction with how Miseta's staff replacement was taking over the review kit and review guide process.

Both cases are still in active progress in the court system. Kotaku will be following any developments and keeping readers posted with any major updates.

can we stop equating both cases now? Brad's being a bigger than usual douchebag, that's all the Elemental Materials suit is.

Claim is bullshit. You can be sued for sexual harassment for an off the clock reference. I'm surprised the CEO didn't know this.

@kevingadd said:

If you're only looking for the latest details on the latest game releases, you can just go visit a site that regurgitates press releases. No journalism required.

This article here? This thing? It's called journalism, because it involves researching a subject, checking and cross-checking sources, interviewing people, and then writing about it and posting it on the internet.

If it was about a game company manufacturing games about molesting women, that would video game related news, and something to follow through.

If the studio closes and the game gets fucked over, that's the video game news.

Showing emails of some chick being harassed by some perv, that's not news. It's called tabloid journalism. And its just a cheap trick to get some readers interested in stupid stuff.

Who gives a shit who told who what, that's why I stopped reading that crap they show at kotaku, and it pains me to see this crap at Giant Bomb.

I don't know if the fact nobody has defaced Brad's page is a sign of restraint or of not enough people being active editors.

Somebody said they couldn't find this video earlier in the thread, so here you go comrade

Wardell is a goddamn CHILD and a humongous asshole. If you are defending him, you are literally part of a big problem.