NeoGAF Sexual Assault Allegations Continue: Two Sides Of The Story

Recently, the popular gaming forum site NeoGAF imploded in on itself when the owner Tyler “Evilore” Malka was once again accused of sexual misconduct; and as with any story, there are two sides.

Earlier this week we reported the circumstance, as well as multiple statements, surrounding the allegations that eventually caused four prominent admins to leave the site for good. To read up on all of the gathered statements, you can check out our previous coverage here, but this is the gist:

Tyler Malka has been accused several times in the past of sexual misconduct, even himself allegedly boasting about grabbing women without their consent. It seems like the latest allegation was enough to make Malka take matters in his own hands, shutting up all conversation about the scandal on the forums, and his fellow moderators are not having it.

This most recent meltdown, and the reason for Malka deleting massive amounts of threads on the site, and the temporary shut down, revolve around a recent Facebook post calling him out for a specific instance of sexual assault. Since then, several community members stepped forward to give their take and support on both sides. Now it’s time to hear from the two individuals that this concerns: Tyler Malka and Texas filmmaker Ima Leupp.

The situation thus far

Both extensive statements come courtesy of an interview with Waypoint. With continuous speculation, upset members, and more silence on the site’s end, it’s time to try to find out what happened. The conflicting reports are a mess and there are many factors that went into this entire situation that have been elaborated on by both sides. 

The story becomes frustratingly complex after learning that this isn’t about strangers; this was a close group of friends. Leupp and Malka have had a long-standing friendship that stemmed from their working together professionally. When Leupp made the original Facebook post, it was set to private to avoid public scrutiny according to Leupp herself. It’s important to notate that she did not name Malka by his name in the post, she merely referred to the person in question as “a man, who claimed to be my friend.” 

It only later became apparent about the person in question when a friend asked who it was and her response was simply “Google Evilore.” Here is a recap of the original Facebook post for reference: 

Tyler Malka “Evilore” and Ima Leupp

She told Waypoint in response to it going viral: 

“I never meant to out him publicly. I never meant to have any of this happen. It was a story that had come up. Instead of just reposting a hashtag, I thought if I described some more details of certain situations that it would become more real for friends in my life.”

Since then, the site was temporarily shut down causing speculation to absolutely run wild. Though Malka had not made a public statement on his own, he did sit down to discuss his side of the story. According to Malka, this situation is much more twisted than it appears. 

Please note that both statements are being released untouched to avoid personal sentiment: 

According to him, “It’s been a perfect storm of misanthropy and opportunism,” later stating that the accusations are “entirely baseless.”  He then went onto say that the night was “totally harmonious and consensual”, which is juxtaposed by Leupp’s statement: 

“I pretty clearly remember closing the door. Maybe not closing it all the way, but closing it enough so that I was protected. I wasn’t getting naked in front of him and then going ‘Oh, I’m going to puke. You wanna come in the shower with me? That’s fucking gross,” while also claiming his version of consensual was “delusional.”

Tyler Malka “Evilore” and Ima Leupp (cont’d)

Eventually, the post was taken down. The move was immediately met with criticism, Malka himself said that he justifies it as “proof” that she was making it up. She says it was simply to stop her privacy from being invaded: 

“I didn’t delete it out of shame or anything, I just got afraid. I never meant to out him publicly. I never meant to have any of this happen. It was a story that had come up. Instead of just reposting a hashtag, I thought if I described some more details of certain situations that it would become more real for friends in my life.”

At the time of the incident, Leupp mentioned in the interview that she was in a polyamorous relationship; a relationship that is built on communication and is open to more than one partner with consent. According to Leupp, that open status only applied to other women, not men. She says that Malka was aware of this and that both she and her partner trusted the two of them to travel together. 

After the incident, the two continued to hang out with prior plans for E3. Both parties state that they talked about that “drunk night” and that they had reached an understanding. The pair eventually made their way together to Los Angeles for E3 following another instance of a fully consensual (confirmed by both parties) sexual encounter after the New Orleans trip.

Apparently things took a turn for the worst once in LA.

What came next

At the time of E3, Malka and Leupp had an established sexual relationship according to their friends, though not exclusive. Leupp added on about the trip that though they did share a bed during their time, they did not have intercourse. 

Leupp says that he started to pursue another woman out of a feeling of rejection, whereas Malka states that it was already a pre-established “mutual romantic interest.” Eventually though, tension came to a head and Leupp and Malka came to an “explosive” turning point where he says she became “increasingly hostie and bitter” and experienced several mental breakdowns. According to Malka, Leupp has a history of “serious mental illness,” though Leupp calls those claims “bullshit.”

She says that the events went differently, that Malka was the aggressor in their altercation. The tension rose, according to her, because she voiced being uncomfortable watching him “trying to get her drunk, being really hands-y, taking her away from the group a lot, and isolating her.” 

She says he was the source of hostility, he says she was. A classic “he said, she said.” Regardless, all of that, according to Malka, is the reason why the dated incident in New Orleans came to light. To him, it wasn’t a cry for help, it was a cry for attention after the E3 debacle. 

A little bit of history

Back in 2012, Malka found himself in a slightly similar situation where he was publicly criticized for sexual misconduct. His response was a little unclear and it became a lot messier as the original thread gained traction: 

“At one point in a bar a girl who didn’t speak any English came up to me and started flirting heavily, then went straight into asking me to buy her a drink, as Itxaka translated when I didn’t know what the hell was going on. I laughed, because drinks here were all of two Euros, but consented and then grabbed her ass hard to show that I wasn’t being taken advantage of, and she thought better of treating me as a mark and left without taking her drink.” 

“She started the grabbing. We were joking and laughing about the whole thing and I saw her later that night and the joking and laughing continued.The outraged feminist posturing in this thread couldn’t be further from the truth.”

He then clarified later about his understanding of consent stating, “I do the grab to make things clear that I’m not a doormat free drink generator and I walk away,” he said at the time. “Is it an escalation of contact? Yes, somewhat. Is it an initiation of contact? No. Do you still want me to indict me for sexual assault? Probably, and no amount of context is likely to convince you otherwise in that case, but I’m a little disgusted that I would be thought so little of,” which he later retracted a bit by stating he made a poor statement with poorly thought out words. 

NeoGAF vs. GamerGate

It’s no secret that GamerGate and NeoGAF had an intense feud in the past as the popular gaming forum took a firm stance against GGers, which sparked a tight ring of control on the site itself. Threads were locked, posts were deleted… there was a lot of highly fueled opinions that kept the thread alive. This controversy sparked some interest when this whole allegation spectacle first broke out. Many wondered if this were an attack on Malka not for something done, but something that GamerGame-friendly folks might have instigated. 

Even a few moderators thought so at first, though they (according to Waypoint) all chose to remain anonymous: 

“Internet drama isn’t new to NeoGAF, but when the allegation is that the site owner sexually harassed someone, and it is allowed to spiral out of control to a point where it’s a really bad look, it’s hard to justify sticking around without a knowing that there’s a clear plan ahead. Not knowing how this would move forward is what sealed the deal for me. It’s impossible to moderate the forum in future in good faith when I’m unable to honestly answer valid questions people might have about this matter.”

When no statement came, the moderators continued to be hit with complaints off-site and they promptly made the decision to walk away. Malka commented on the mods leaving, stating: 

“A significant portion of the team stepped down in response to [the allegations] and the rest of the negativity this year hitting a breaking point. 2017 has been depressing and toxic for moderation of social and political issues on a message board that’s supposed to be primarily about video games. I totally understand, and I don’t blame any of them for parting ways.”

While the site remains down, the future is unclear for what’s to happen between Leupp and Malka – or even what’s to come for NeoGAF. Both parties are eager to move on with their lives, with Leupp having this parting message on the topic: 

“The only thing I gain from this is harassment. I’m not trying to ruin his life. I wasn’t trying to call him out. I was responding to a fucking hashtag about sexual assault and sexual abuse, and that story fit really well. Who gets into a shower with a naked girl who’s puking?”

Story developing…