Jagex Addresses Harassment And Assault Charges Levied At Streamer During RuneFest

Jason Winter
By Jason Winter, News Editor
Share:

This weekend's RuneFest made a lot of news, but not all of it was good. One of the more disturbing stories coming from the event was the allegations that streamer Ali "Gross Gore" Larson at locations outside the convention proper over the weekend. As Polygon reports, Larson "attempted to kiss [a woman] against her will" and, several times throughout the convention, commented to women about their breasts.

Larson's actions were corroborated by another streamer, Skiddler, who got into a physical altercation after Larson repeatedly made comments about a friend's breasts. According to Skiddler (full account on Twitter), he later tried to talk to Larson in a calm manner and, when Larson got physical with a friend of Skiddler's, he intervened. That culminated in Skiddler's being attacked from behind and "thrown into the side of a moving car" and "being held down" by Larson's friends while being kicked repeatedly.

Larson attempted to apologize for the incident, but in doing so compared women to cars -- "But people have to understand that if you're going to wear something so revealing, people will comment on it. That's life. If I drove around in a Ferrari, then people would comment on the Ferrari." -- which served only to further infuriate people.

While Larson's activities didn't occur at the site of the convention, Jagex still felt the need to take a stand against his behavior. In a statement issued today, the RuneScape developer had this to say:

With almost 2,000 people attending RuneFest this year, we thank everyone for making it a very special event in the RuneScape calendar. However, after RuneFest had finished, we were made aware of allegations concerning a small number of content creators.

While the alleged incidents did not take place at the RuneFest venue or within its opening hours, the safety and wellbeing of those in and around our events is of paramount importance to us.

Having reviewed the allegations we have found that the content creators concerned did breach our code of conduct. We do not tolerate inappropriate or offensive behaviour in any way and, while we had a limited working relationship with some of the individuals, we will not be working with them, or allowing them to attend future Jagex events, going forward.

As we look towards 2019, we will strive to keep future RuneFests, and all Jagex events, safe spaces where attendees can continue to enjoy the inclusiveness and positivity that comes from being part of the RuneScape community.

Share:
Got a news tip? Contact us directly here!

In this article: RuneScape, Jagex.

About the Author

Jason Winter
Jason Winter, News Editor
Jason Winter is a veteran gaming journalist, he brings a wide range of experience to MMOBomb, including two years with Beckett Media where he served as the editor of the leading gaming magazine Massive Online Gamer. He has also written professionally for several gaming websites.

Discussion (1)

Caspramio 4 years ago
I'm a man who is against progressism (well, you call them feminism too, but is more a radical branch of it), but it doesn't I'm not going to defend the dignity and the honour of other people. What this person done is not only outrageous, also is disrespectful not only to those who were affected directly by his actions, also to those who defend the principle that "we are equal" are offended by his justification of those actions.


Read Next

MapleStory 2 Officially Launches Today, Prizes Galore

MapleStory 2 Officially Launches Today, Prizes Galore

That's it guys.

By QuintLyn Bowers - 4 years ago

You May Enjoy

Go Hands On With Free-To-Play Digital Card Game Warhammer 40,000: Warpforge During The Steam Digital Tabletop Event

Go Hands On With Free-To-Play Digital Card Game Warhammer 40,000: Warpforge During The Steam Digital Tabletop Event

40K fan rejoice, you have a new free-to-play CCG to try this weekend.

By Troy Blackburn - 4 days ago
Execute Your First Mission For Deceive Inc. Beginning Today

Execute Your First Mission For Deceive Inc. Beginning Today

Infiltrate, disguise, gather intel, and make it out alive.

By QuintLyn Bowers - 5 days ago
The Rubber Ducks Return To World Of Warships

The Rubber Ducks Return To World Of Warships

Once again, the annual April Fool’s event is back.

By QuintLyn Bowers - 4 days ago
Real-Time F2P Battler 'Spellcraft' Will Debut Public Alpha Testing On Steam In April

Real-Time F2P Battler 'Spellcraft' Will Debut Public Alpha Testing On Steam In April

Control an entire team of heroes in real-time battler Spellcraft.

By Troy Blackburn - 5 days ago
Unreal Editor for Fortnite Is Finally Here, And It Totally Changes The Game

Unreal Editor for Fortnite Is Finally Here, And It Totally Changes The Game

Check out Epic Games' presentation, then try out the public beta for yourself now.

By Matthew D'Onofrio - 3 days ago