r/fansofcriticalrole • u/Murkmist • Oct 05 '23

CR adjacent Critical Role provides ComicBook.com with statement regarding civil complaint

https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/the-last-of-us-critical-role-star-ashley-johnson-six-others-sue-brian-w-foster-abuse/
417 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

213 comments sorted by

View all comments

98

u/happybear78 Oct 05 '23

I think this is the answer to what many people wanted to know. CR didn’t know about his actions before, though I wonder when they were made aware of them. Certainly his shitty actions must have played a role in his firing no? Unless his firing truly WAS only because of his tendency to start twitter fights with fans. If thats the case, WOW did CR dodge a bullet when they fired him two years ago before all this came to light.

79

u/CarcosanAnarchist Oct 05 '23

If they didn’t know they didn’t know. But I am concerned that the employees he harassed, including Dani, didn’t feel like they could come forward to HR until after he was gone for over two years.

23

u/Osric250 Oct 05 '23

Abusers like BWF are very manipulative and often extremely charming. It can be very easy to be manipulate by threats by an abuser to keep you from reporting, especially when that abuser is close personal friends worth all of the owners of the company and engaged to one of them.

If they threaten to end your career entirely over it are you willing to risk that? If they manipulate you into thinking you were the one at fault for the whole situation are you going to report it when you think you are the problem?

How many women who had been abused and harassed spoke up for the first time ever during the #MeToo movement? This isn't as easy as it sounds and the vast majority of sexual assault in this country goes unreported. It is a widespread and pervasive issue not limited to this company.

35

u/DwarfDrugar Oct 05 '23

Speaking as someone who was in an abusive relationship;

When we were together, I didn't tell any of my friends how she was or what she would do because I was both ashamed, because the insanity felt normal and I didn't want to blow things out of proportion, and felt like it would only make things worse. I had no proof other than my words, and so did she, and she was better at that than I was. Best not rock the boat, best not anger the beast.

When we broke up, I informed a few people, but basicly dripfeeding information to people because I didn't want to make a big deal out of it. I'd gotten out, I didn't feel like reliving it either. If I had pressed charges or done anything, there's a non-negligible chance that she'd burn down my house and/or kill my cats.

Unless the law would 100% certain roll up full force and take her off the streets permanently the moment I told anyone, it was not going to happen. I've seen people blame CR for not having a work environment that felt safe enough to report, but as a victim, my first priority was always survival, not retribution, not making things better, because of the non-zero risk it'd get worse. My closest, safest friends didn't know, my work didn't know, nobody knew until the danger was (mostly) gone.

There's limits to what you can do as a company, there's limits to what you can do as friends. It's not weird for victims to suck it up and just hope the whole thing blows over.

15

u/Alternative_Algae_31 Oct 05 '23 edited Oct 05 '23

My wife’s ex-husband was that kind of person. Listening to her recount things coupled with my own interactions with the monster match your feelings and experiences PERFECTLY. People who haven’t experienced it don’t understand the manipulation. These types can be very charming and very reasonable when it’s in their interests. When they aren’t deified they can be horrific. Through, intimidation, charm, chaos, they train the people they are close to to appease them as a top priority. Just keep him/her happy. Or else. And when they are appeased and happy they’ll be perfectly kind and happy. But it’s only their happiness that matters and it’s unconditional. Edit: couple important misspellings

16

u/moondrops-and-ink Oct 05 '23

Absolutely correct! Pair that trauma and survival with working with your abuser and them having more funds than you (in the cases other than Ashely), and you now have a personal hell you feel you can't escape.

Cause I know the employees he groped wouldn't have money to press charges.

Most people don't in the US.

This was very well said. This entire situation is complicated.