Daniel Z Klein, Apex Legends’ lead game designer, left Respawn Entertainment after discovering abusive blog posts published in 2007. Late last month, images from the DeviantArt blog were posted to Twitter, including comments about humiliating African women and people.
Shortly after the photos began circulating, Klein issued a statement on July 28 denouncing the material. “I recently came across some horrible statements I made on a blog I wrote in 2007,” he said books on Twitter. “I fully own the things I’ve said, and I feel ashamed, sad, and angry at my younger self for saying these things. I hope it’s clear that I don’t believe these things anymore.”
Klein’s colleague, Ryan K. Rigney, director of communications at Respawn, supported Klein at the time. “Daniel sent me the video himself to inform me about it,” Rene books, Referring to Youtube video Compare old notes. “As for comments, I don’t think anything from 2007 will reflect on anyone in 2021. People are getting older. And accusing him of “possible sexual assault” is going too far. You shouldn’t say things like that without proof.”
Two weeks later, Klein announced his departure from Respawn In the thread of tweets. “I want to be very open here and say that I am sad and depressed,” he wrote. “It was a very dark few days.
“You may or may not have seen the horrible, fanatical things I said in 2007. I honestly agree that this man should have been fired. I’ve put a lot of effort into becoming a better person ever since, and now I’m just so depressed because he feels I wouldn’t. I could never make up for what I was.
“I said racist and sexist things, not because I strongly believed in them, but because I knew I could get a reaction from people. That’s no excuse for what I said; the effect of my words was the same no matter what happened I thought.”
“I mention this because with the help of so many people who loved me despite my sometimes foolishness, I was sometimes able to make progress on my journey to become a better person. If my story could help one person in a similar situation know there was a way to become a better person. At least it serves a purpose.”
In a statement filed with Van Byte Prior to Klein’s departure, EA wrote: “The comments are disturbing and we certainly do not endorse the views expressed. [human resources department] informed and investigated.”
In a statement to Kotaku, Klein books: “I fully own the horrible and bigoted statement I made in 2007 and I am disgusted by my younger self for making it. But there’s also no doubt that it came to light because someone was looking for things to hurt me. EA was aware of the claim, and I specifically asked them to look into these strategies that will be used against other employees in the future.”
According to him, Klein was fired from Riot Games earlier in 2018 for not cooperating with the company’s social media policies. His departure came after his public defense of League of Legends PAX West events that were exclusive to women and non-double entrants. “I was fired for violating our social media policies,” Klein said. common.
EA has not released a statement at this time regarding Klein’s departure from Respawn. I have reached out for comment and will update if I hear anything.
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