Gamergate, Too: Zoe Quinn's Statements Undermined by...Zoe Quinn
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Zoe Quinn is no stranger to controversy. One might even argue her entire career has been built on the house-of-cards foundation of accusations of sexism and abuse, setting her up as a heroic overcomer in the male-dominated industries of video games and comic books.
But Internet controversy turned to real life consequences barely two weeks ago when Quinn took to Twitter to make public accusations against former fellow game designer, Alec Holowka, claiming sexual abuse and false imprisonment. The immediate fallout for Holowka -- the loss of his career and the shattered public perception -- drove a man who already suffered from emotional troubles to take his own life.
#MeToo had been successfully weaponized--and the weapon was deadly.
Among the statements of the abuse she had allegedly endured from Holowka, Quinn stated, "While I was in Winnipeg he slowly isolated me from everyone else in my life while absolutely degrading me whenever we were alone," as well as "He wouldn't let me leave the apartment without him and refused to give me the code to get in," and "I spent a lot of that month hiding from him in the bathroom."
However, other statements found online stand in stark contradiction to what was said in Quinn's allegations -- and they come from the most unimpeachable source of all things Zoe Quinn: Zoe Quinn herself.
From tweets archived at The Post Millennial, provided by someone who still had access to Quinn's privatized Twitter account (@UnburntWitch), writer Anna Slatz constructs a timeline of events covering Quinn's stay in Winnipeg with Holowka that paints a picture of anything but that described in Quinn's August 26th allegations.
"Tweets reveal a different story, with Quinn tweeting regularly throughout the time period in Winnipeg with Holowka, sometimes dozens of times per day, communicating with many others and describing Quinn’s time in the city, and documenting many excursions," writes Slatz when laying out the case against Quinn's claims. Slatz then goes on to publish tweet after tweet from Quinn's timeline coinciding with her time in Winnipeg. During that time, Quinn and Holowka both interacted with several game designers at meetups, and also appeared together on a podcast.
Coupled with the discrepancies between Quinn's tweets and her allegations, Slatz further relies on conversations Quinn shared with former partners on her Facebook account.
"...Quinn’s history cannot be neglected when considering the context of the accusations," Slatz writes. "Quinn’s ex-partner, Eron Gjoni, recently brought attention to extensive discussions had between himself and Quinn on Facebook (Quinn’s has since been deactivated). In these discussions, Quinn mentions being raised by a 'pathological liar,' having 'brain damage,' and seeking 'vengeance' against a man, a game developer Quinn once loved, (allegedly Alec Holowka) with the intention of furthering a career in games." (Emphasis added.)
It's a level of pushback against #MeToo allegations the likes of which haven't been seen since the Gorsuch hearings. And while there isn't any legal action pending against Quinn for Holowka's death, the case against her is being litigated, nonetheless, in the court of public opinion--right where Quinn herself filed it.