Update: Malka has now issued a statement in which he denies the allegations.
“It’s not true. The individual making the accusation isn’t credible, the story doesn’t reconcile logically with the facts, and there’s plenty of evidence and witnesses to corroborate that.”
Original:
NeoGAF video game forums went offline last weekend after allegations of sexual misconduct were made against the owner, Tyler Malka.
For over a decade, NeoGAF has hosted one of the most renowned video game discussion forums on the internet. However, NeoGAF’s long life may be near its end.
After allegations of sexual misconduct were made against NeoGAF owner Tyler Malka, users and administrators began abandoning the popular discussion forum. During this upheaval, many threads created regarding Malka’s alleged actions were deleted.
Allegations against Malka arose when Ima Leupp, a Texas filmmaker, began sharing her experiences as a victim of sexual assault on her Facebook timeline. Partaking in the #metoo hashtag in an effort to draw attention to women who are subjected to sexual assault, Leupp posted a short story about “a man who claimed to be her friend”. Shortly after her initial posting, friends began sharing screenshots of the post and eventually the post went viral.
According to Leupp’s post, her and her “friend” took a road trip to New Orleans two years ago. They were spending a night drinking in their hotel room until Leupp eventually got sick. She decided to take a shower and while she was taking a shower her “friend” entered the shower naked and attempted to sit behind her. Leupp says she told her “friend” she didn’t want him in the shower with her and asked him to leave.
Resistant at first, the “friend” did end up conceding to Leupp’s wishes and left the shower. After telling her “friend” she didn’t want him in the shower, Leupp says the trip soured and became uncomfortable. Her “friend” began treating her poorly and continued to treat her poorly throughout the duration of their trip.
“I was throwing up and decided to hop in the shower to feel better. I was surprised when he got into the shower, fully naked behind me. I had a boyfriend at the time and didn’t think I had given him any reason to believe I wanted this. I didn’t cheat.”
Initially, Leupp did not provide her alleged assaulter’s name. It wasn’t until people began showing a lot of interest in the identity of her alleged assaulter when Leupp commented on the initial post, “Google Evilore.” As it turns out, “Evilore” is one of Tyler Malka’s internet handles, and shortly after Leupp’s comment, people quickly discovered her posts were referring to Malka.
Malka has not publicly commented on the allegations against him but according to NeoGAF account “ModBot”, a statement will be released in the near future.
Leupp’s initial Facebook post has since been made private.
This is not the first time NeoGAF and Malka have been at the centre of controversy, and the operation of NeoGAF continued despite those controversies. Even now, at the time of writing, the site is back online.
