Former Limited Run Games community manager Kara Lynne has discussed being cancelled for who she followed on Twitter, revealing she doesn’t hold a grudge against neither her former employer nor the mob who called for her to be fired.
At the start of January, “Purple Tinker” (a co-founder of Brony Con) tried to spark a boycott against Limited Run Games over community manager Kara Lynne which ultimately resulted in her getting fired. The perceived issue was that Lynne followed “right-wing transphobic creeps” on Twitter — such as those critical about the age someone could undergo treatment, and which bathrooms they can use.
Lynne herself also stated in 2016, “If you think the # of trans crying about using a bathroom is higher than the perves using the excuse, you are what is wrong with this world.” Other tweets showing rational concerns were also taken as offensive.
Only eight hours after the first tweet, Limited Run Games announced, “LRG respects all personal opinions, however we remain committed to supporting an inclusive culture. Upon investigating a situation, an employee was terminated. Our goal as a company is to continue to foster a positive and safe environment for everyone.”
Comments were turned off shortly there-after, as most replies on Twitter were filled with denouncement of Limited Run Games for kowtowing to a known internet bully- by her own admission in 2020. This continued even on January 30th with a sole tweet that allowed comments.
Speaking with Rippaverse Comics founder and ISOM creator Eric July, Lynne explained how she original started at Limited Run in November 2020. A friend let her know about the position, as he was unable to relocate for the role.
Prior to the incident, Lynne never expected anything of that nature to happen. She explained how she kept politics to herself at work, and not pushing her beliefs onto others. “You do you, I’ll do me, and we’ll all be happy.” Any conversions where colleagues revealed they had “very different opinions” didn’t affect anything, and there was mutual respect.
Aside from her very upbeat and optimistic attitude, Lynne later described herself as not political but a “values person” who had no issues with the beliefs of her peers as long as they don’t hurt others.
Discussing the day of the incident itself, Lynne states it started pretty normally — bar the fact she was working from home while she recovered from illness. A co-worker was seemingly the first to notify her, telling her of the outrage that had been circling. Lynne states later that she had never interacted with Purple Tinker.
While within her job to answer community questions, she kept her head down and didn’t reply to questions or requests for comment from individuals and journalists alike — wanting to speak to her “bosses” at Limited Run Games first. When asking them for guidance, they initially didn’t respond, later explaining they didn’t wish to give advice they would have to backtrack on.
Later that day, Limited Run Games bosses stated they had to fire Lynne, even admitting she did nothing wrong. Lynne explained in the interview that she was also always polite to developers and customers — even when they were upset — and other Twitter users.
“Through my own social media, I always tried to stay neutral,” Lynne explained, citing that Limited Run Games worked with developers of all sizes, and didn’t wish for any of them to feel excluded. Instead, her accounts would “hype up” her friends, pictures of pets, art, and other “positive vibes.”
Lynne reveals that prior to being fired, she had already discussed quitting her community manager position due to being burned out from the negativity of the role. She was originally going to be moved to another position within the marketing team. She then surprisingly explained she holds no grudge against Limited Run Games for firing her.
“It hurt, I wasn’t angry with them,” Lynne reveals. “From a PR perspective, being in a marketing position, you’ve gotta understand where they were, where they’re having to come from with this. While I wish they would’ve had my back, I can understand and try to rationalize it a little bit about why they didn’t.
“But… Hindsight’s 20/20. I feel like if they would have had my back it would have been a completely different story,” she admitted.
July briefly discusses the differences between what Lynne hopes and what she’s seeing now. This prompts him to ask the former community manager what she had learned from all of this. Lynne explained she was now “doing OK,” and mentioned that,while that was her worst day, “the outpour of love support” was affirming and seemingly would continue to uphold her “kill ’em with kindness” attitude to disprove her critics.
Continuing to exhibit saint-like patience, Lynne believes “I honestly think that a lot of the people who really advocated for my termination, I don’t think they’re bad people! I think they might be having a tough-time in their life, and trying to find a place, and trying to find acceptance, and that kind of… Personified into this particular attack.”
“I don’t hold any hatred towards them, I hope they find the happiness that they need.”
Lynne even states she’s “thankful that they picked me, because I know, I can get through it. I know I’m strong enough, I know I have the support system to get through something like this.”
“There are people out there who may not have that support system to get through being cancelled, or being attacked online.” Lynne also asserting she knows she’ll have “other opportunities,” though having no idea what they will be at this time but confident she will be able to “figure it out.”
Lynne also states her next steps would be to remain in the gaming industry, as its her “happy place.” This is due in part to the “passion” of all involved, unpredictability, and despite recent events feels there is more positivity than negativity.
The former Limited Run Games community manager revealed “a few different companies” had reached out to her, but she was still avoiding customer-facing roles (as she was before the incident). Project management or utilizing technical organization was of interest for her.
July suggested Lynne to focus on streaming, something she had previously done on-and-off for six years as a hobby. She wasn’t entirely opposed to the idea, noting that “having somebody that has been through this, and has had more of a positive outlook on it, and had a positive experience from it, it could be welcoming for some who may be in a similar situation, and feel like they don’t have a place.”
July cheered the idea of Lynne’s success and positivity as “invaluable,” showcasing that getting cancelled isn’t someone’s end.
“To anybody that’s going through a difficult situation; you’ve got this. It’ll be OK, don’t let the ‘Debbie Downers’ get you down, don’t join their club- not worth it. Step aside, do your own thing, try to look at everything with a positive light.” Lynne firmly believes looking at things with a positive outlook can turn a “life-ruining situation to something that, honestly, changes your life in a better way,” Lynne concluded.