One of Gamergate’s most central figures is unhappy with Brianna Wu’s recently announced decision to develop a series based on the eight-year-old internet happening.
Announced on October 4th, Wu’s series will reportedly aim to “explore the origins of the widespread intimidation campaign from the perspective of multiple, fictional people in the game industry – from executives to journalists and indie developers.”
Speaking to the series’ development, Wu told Deadline, “We’re not going to retread the same story told in thousands of news stories from outlets such as the New York Times and Washington Post, plus multiple documentaries like GTFO.”
“Our series will focus on new, fictional people within the industry reacting to a horrific situation,” she added. “By explaining how they were unable to stop the video game industry from being hijacked by the lunatic fringe – we can show how the tactics of Gamergate were the same ones that led to tragedies like Christchurch and January 6th.”
However, despite Wu’s excitement at the chance to tell a disingenuously slanted interpretation of the events, Zoë Quinn – whose role in sparking the entirety of Gamergate has been routinely documented – is less than thrilled that such a project is moving forward.
After reportedly “getting a lot of emails” about Wu’s series, Quinn took to her personal Twitter account on October 6th to inform her followers “No, I’ve got nothing to do with That TV show.”
“I learned about its existence at the same time as the rest of you,” she explained. “No, I was not asked, consulted etc. and if I had been asked, I wouldn’t have been ok with it. That’s all.”
In a series of follow-up tweets, Quinn further noted that she will “continue to reject any oversimplification of GamerGate that leaves out its roots in white supremacy, domestic violence, and the pre-existing societal issues it capitalized in favor of a more convenient and inaccurate narrative about it being solely about women in games.”
“If I am portrayed in it, it’s without my involvement or any input on my end, and is happening without my consent,” Quinn continued. “If I’m written out of it, well… I’m not so sure how you can present it as an ‘honest’ story. But that’s really not my problem, either.”
“I don’t want to do any interviews on this, I don’t want to give any other statements aside from this,” she eventually concluded. “It’s bad enough having all of this pop up again without any warning or regard for how I might feel about it, so I’d like to just try and ignore it. Thank you for understanding.”
As of writing, Wu has not publicly responded to Quinn’s criticisms.
Curiously, though she found time to issue a statement on Wu’s latest endeavor, Quinn still seems unable to find the time to provide any update (or refund options) to the backers of her Kickstarter campaign, Kickstarted in the Butt: A Chuck Tingle Digital Adventure, who have gone over three years without receiving word of the game’s status.
What do you make of Quinn’s response to Wu’s Gamergate series? Let us know your thoughts on social media or in the comments down below!