Borderlands Voice Actor Alleges Randy Pitchford Assaulted Him Two Years Ago

David Eddings, Borderlands’s original Claptrap voice actor, claims Gearbox Software CEO Randy Pitchford allegedly assaulted him back in 2017. During a few posts on Twitter, Eddings clarified some of the reasons he will not be returning for the upcoming Borderlands 3.

[Hardiman]

Damn(Farooq voice)!!!!!

[Nu]

Raphael: "Damn"

[Hardiman]

Ha hell yes! I wonder who else in popular culture has the catchphrase "DAMN!"

[Smokehouse]

Lmao! This dude can’t catch a break.

[Wolffenblitz]

Maybe if he wasn't a dickhead, he'd be alright.

[Smokehouse]

No argument from me lol

[Cmoney007]

It can be easy to have issues with Pitchford.

[gamer7804]

he could get sued for defamation of character, he'll have to prove this in court via witnesses and camera footage from the hotel, I'm sure there is camera footage, but It has been a couple of years. I'm not going to say either person is right or wrong, in this day and age you MUST be able to prove allegations.

[Gority]

Nah, the person suing for defamation has to prove the statement is false, not the other way around. Much harder to prove something didn't happen than something did happen.

[CorndogBurglar]

Exactly. If you didn't do something you are accused of then there is no evidence to say you didn't do it.

Also, the other piece of defamation of character, is that even if you can prove the statement was false, you then have to prove that you were harmed by it. And no, not your feelings. You have to prove your reputation was actually hurt by the statement, which also isn't easy to do unless you own a business and sales instantly dropped, or something like that.

[RememberThe357]

Pitchford seems to be getting called out for being a grade-A asshole more often than not.

[CorndogBurglar]

Nope. In order to sue for Defamation of Character (successfully) you have to prove that the statement caused some kind of actual harm to you, whether it be reputational or financial. If the person's statement has had no effect on you then you won't win a Defamation case.

[rainslacker]

Harm can be as easy as saying you experienced some kind of mental distress. However, it does usually require some money to pay for therapy to prove that you actually are traumatized.

[Cobra951]

A public figure can be harmed plenty by baseless accusations of something heinous like assault or rape.

[CorndogBurglar]

@ Cobra951

Of course they can. Did I give the impression I don't agree with that?

[Razmiran]

Child pornography, embezzelment, assault
Pitchford is going down

[warriorcase]

Doubt. There actually needs to be proof first. The fact that a lot of the complaint/allegations have come from ex disgruntled employees doesn't help either.

[Sciurus_vulgaris]

I believe it was Sega that claimed embezzlement against Pitchford due to Aliens Colonial Marines bizarre development.

[Razmiran]

Dude, we read about shitty bosses in the industry every day but no one else has been accused of so much

[rainslacker]

I think Sega and Pritchford already settled on the whole Aliens thing. If he actually used money Sega gave him for another project, that's highly illegal, and Sega wouldn't just let that go. Since there was no lawsuit, they had to have either figured out a way to compensate Sega....probably through the profits of BL, or it actually never happened.

I really don't know how this guy is still employed though. He's a train wreck every time he gets close to releasing a game. He pops up in the media with allegations against him, or he makes stupid comments which piss people off.

[jeki]

Since you klnow so much, when will charges for those very serious crimes be brought against him?

[ElementX]

I thought the girl in the video on the flash drive was 18 and it came from a barely legal site, supposedly.

[garos82]

dis is a spicy story. Randy seems unhinged generally and its a shame as this will affect what could otherwise be a great game

[toxic-inferno]

It probably won't affect the quality of the game, nor the sales.

But despite being a Borderlands fan, I will feel a little bit guilty for enjoying it.

[garos82]

i didnt mean that it would affect the quality of the game but the reception of it. And i dont mean the whiny journalists and their "reviews". Im talking about the bottom line of sales. It will still probably sell well though

[Wolffenblitz]

The fact it's on Epic will hurt it a lot.

[jeki]

It won't affect anything.

[Uglyday]

Considering how much claptrap gets kicked around he was probably just helping him get into the role properly.

[nibblo]

Yes it was Randy's way of helping him to "method act". Randy's good that way.

[VTKC]

Physical assault? I wonder if it was in a sexual nature.

[Dfooster]

What in a hotel lobby?

[Cobra951]

Yeah, wth does "assault" mean in this case. Without details, and in a hotel lobby, I'll have to assume it was something like an angry shove, if it happened at all.

[mixelon]

Randy has seemed pretty terrible for a long time. Consistently dishonest, just generally an asshat.

I’d be inclined to believe any randomly selected person’s side of things over Randy’s. Randy has earned no trust. He’s earned minus trust.

[shadowraiden]

also when its multiple people coming out saying of the things hes done and the fact it was sega who sued for embezzlement over his handlings of Aliens Colonial Marines because it was not developed in a normal manner and funds were wasted(with sega believing Randy used part of it to fund his own future studio plans)

[Wolffenblitz]

If you dig around in his replies, he gets super defensive and angry when being called out as a liar. Tends to be the typical response of a liar.

[Cobra951]

Baseless accusations wouldn't bother you, then? You wouldn't get angry at all? I'd get plenty pissed if people unfairly imputed my character. Someone can also become indignant just because of the shock of public humiliation--the point being that an angry response is no proof or indication of guilt or innocence. It's a human response to a personal attack (whether justified or not).

[Relientk77]

Well this is getting interesting

[Omnisonne]

Yeah.. I find the timing to be awfully coincident of these allegations.

Same as with the whole #Metoo business, defamation through social media and not a single filed police report on the matter. (I mean really, if you would get physically slapped around or touched improperly at work its not something you'll just let fly.)

[badboyz09]

exactly Timing is off. Just a guy looking for work.

[mixelon]

So boneheadedly wrong.

Not every crime is reported to the police for many MANY different reasons. You know this, so why act otherwise.

Everyone likely knows someone who’s had crimes of some sort committed against them that haven’t been reported. There are a ton of times where it doesn’t seem worth the hassle/risk to your own reputation/employability/etc.

[Omnisonne]

Tell me, if there are laws and regulations in place specifically to protect you from such abuse, legal protection laws included. Why on earth would you refuse to file a complaint/report?

Instead what you see so many do lately (not accusing this guy of anything, just suspicious) is they take the whole thing and vent on social media years later to seek mob "justice''. This stuff is dangerous and will be (and has been) abused by many to ruin other people's careers whether they are guilty of misconduct or not.

You know this, don't act otherwise.

[madjedi]

That is fine however if you make that choice, you cannot then demand you want justice done many years after the fact, when it is suddenly more convenient for you try to destroy someone's reputation over a claim on social media..

Pitchford might be a shit human being guilty of exactly what is claimed of him, however in the weaponizied metoo/online outrage mob era you should presume the person getting slandered is innocent until proven guilty otherwise.

Anything revolving violence or sexual assault report it immediately to the police, you refuse to report it to the police then you wave your right to run your mouth about it on social media. Report it day one to the proper authorities or do not try and pull the victim card later on for attention and sympathy years later.

"There are a ton of times where it doesn’t seem worth the hassle/risk to your own reputation/employability/etc.& quot; Then neither is it worth the time or the hassle to go online and try to destroy someone's reputation over it either. How about a little bit of consistency.

Btw if your not familiar with the Vic Mignogna lawsuit, it is exactly what we need for people that want to destroy other peoples lives and reputations on false claims to be held accountable for their statements made.

Sucks to get a new voice for claptrap, liked the main guy, but if he can't stand working with pitchford due to the guy being abusive that is understandable.

[mixelon]

Haha.

This guys come out in self defence after Randy was talking about him. What happened in the past and what seemed right *then* has little bearing on what does now. Power dynamics change, obviously people wait a long time before saying things and can be inspired to do so at any time afterward. Their call.

Why would you not file a complaint/report? You can’t actually be that dense?

Have you ever been bullied? By someone in a position of power or influence? Someone who could make your life shitty? Someone who can easily stop you from getting a good reference? Sometimes it’s best to cut your losses.

Oh and MadJedi The #kickvic lawsuit is not going to to go the way you think. 😂

[Omnisonne]

Right.. so we're just gonna go with dragging peoples names through the mud based on nothing but an internet tweet then? OK

Just pray your ex boyfriend/girlfriend or colleague won't be doing the same to you, that would be bad wouldnt it?

[mixelon]

No, but you definitely give the accusers the benefit of the doubt when they’re credible, pending reasons not to. Otherwise you’re obstructing others from coming forward, which isn’t always easy. Sympathy should always be weighted towards victims, scepticism cuts both ways.

And, well.. they could try dragging me? It’d be a lot harder than someone like Randy who has a reputation for being shitty. “Nothing but an Internet tweet” is false. Randy has a past history of nonsense, the media want more detail, but they’re right to focus on it - more details will likely come. All everyone is saying is “this would come as no surprise.” - I’ve been hoping he loses his position at GBx for a while, this doesn’t change much. His reputation is kaput already.

[Cobra951]

While that's true, it's also a fact that the mere accusation of sexual impropriety will cause great harm in today's insane political environment. The burden of proof has effectively shifted to the accused, and it's so heavy that it likely will never be met.

[badboyz09]

Sounds like he's just salty about being replaced. And looking for work.

[AK91]

I’m not surprised.

[antarius]

Regardless if it’s true or not to just hurl an accusation on social media is low class and makes the claim seem less legit. Assault these days can be anything from a simple pushing someone’s hand away to getting beat down. Sounds like someone might be a drama queen.

[jeki]

This Eddings guy is a joke.

Only haters would believe this nonsense.

[Traecy]

If true this person should have pressed charges & sued or they should have wore Randy's ass out & walked out of the job.

[kythlyn]

Just something to keep in mind as we reach for the pitchforks.

---

Randy Pitchford
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Verified account

@DuvalMagic
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Replying to @PaulsRockinTwit @jasonschreier
It’s no big deal. I’m a little on the spectrum and was actually trying to be helpful using correct nomenclature. It matters for some.

9:39 AM - 6 Jun 2017

[pleasuretokill]

Randy Pitchford is a pile of human excrement.

[Cmoney007]

Did he get touched like Pitchford is getting touched by Epic? I couldn’t help myself.

[TopherMan]

That's how this works now. Don't get your way? Fine.....jump on twitter and whine about it.

[TargusX]

SO pleased!

[mastershredder]

Pulling a bait and switch on Sega & using money and resources intended for CM for boarderlands 2 was real ace randy.