Richard Lewis On The Maniac Situation

[@jendall]

Thanks Griff for adding the original stream date to the VOD clips/videos. Not sure if this is the first video with it but its the first time I see it. Love all the content Rich, keep it coming!

[@xalywero331]

Sorry if I'm blind, but where is the stream date?

[@pelicansaredumb5485]

@@xalywero331 it popped up in the first 4 seconds of the video :)

[@xalywero331]

@@pelicansaredumb5485 Ah alright, thank you

[@JohnSmith-jy9ux]

Yes its a very welcome addition!

[@electrucution]

people will still struggle with the concept of linear time though.

[@Beam_on_team]

41:52 "when you take drugs, yes they do make you act up, I know a little about this" to the immediate nose scratch/rub is pure comedic genius and I just wanted more people to appreciate it

[@tejmazwei]

Bro knows 😂

[@yardmanCS]

pure comedic genius😂😂 cmon brother, its not that deep

[@dogsushienjoyer]

If I'm not mistaken RL said he did coke before, but I don't want make false allegations, maybe he just talked about someone doing coke

[@pbsquilz]

@@dogsushienjoyer lmao he's definitely done it, along with a few other drugs

[@denvernuggsjeans]

you’re an incredibly well spoken individual and i really like the way you break down situations and point out the stupidity in an argument or faults in someone’s logic. great stuff

[@2639theboss]

He is. I really wish he could get a handle on how he interacts with the community at times, simply because it reduces the amount of opportunities we have for him to have the platform he deserves and that the scene needs more of, but I understand it would be incredibly difficult to deal with the sheer quantity of full-blown (insert word here, thanks KZbin). But he had an event this year, hopefully more to come.

[@denvernuggsjeans]

@@2639theboss absolutely. it was a pleasant surprise seeing him on the desk for copenhagen. reminded me of when i first started watching :)

[@fyroe]

B-b-but he's a toxic manchild who goes off on anyone that dares register a twitter account!!

[@dogsushienjoyer]

@@2639theboss afaik he's hired for future PGL events, of which are many to come in 2025

[@prawtism]

Indistinguishable from an AI comment, gotta add some personality next time :D

[@Batch00]

It's always appreciated to get a balanced and mature view on subjects like these. A lot of coverage about SA and other serious incidents tend to approach it as industry drama, providing "juicy" details to satiate people's fetish for controversy. I wouldn't expect that from RL regardless, but thanks for presenting the story in a way that both respects the victims and to provide context that explains how the industry has allowed this to happen in the first place. Coverage that is this measured and nuanced is truly hard to come by in all fields, but especially esports!

[@raichu5844]

Completely ignorant take

[@Batch00]

@@raichu5844 Okay. What am I ignorant of? What makes my "take" ignorant?

[@exact3]

The only correct take, once more. We need more people like you in this world. An inspiration for sure. Keep it up Rich.

[@flensoest]

lol

[@outkripper]

Its always a shame to find out people are like this. I think your approach and assessment was sound as always and super informative. Cheers

[@duleduki3733]

Maniac was at diddy party if i remember correctly

[@abigchair]

1:13:50 "sexual assault is alright though innit" CLIP IT WE GOT EM

[@SlothsPlayGames]

sending this to big gull

[@ivan8093]

Love you rich, hope you're doing well

[@doemecom]

really good explanation on the alarming trend of people who rise to „fame“ only via internet and live most of their life online. sadly it doesn’t only affect esports, it is a problem with the whole civilization, influencers who gain a massive following and feel entitled to tell people, what they should believe/vote/consume/etc. and their only reflection is a live chat or some stupid comment section.

[@WhatIsThisAsian]

just wanted to thank you for going over this. hope the community could grow and become better

[@tchorzyk11]

maniac situation is insane...

[@galax12370]

this situation-verse is crazy

[@KindriEvans]

this isn't Penguinz0

[@yeahno555]

​@@KindriEvans you found the joke

[@HeinousAnusOG]

@@KindriEvansyes congrats!

[@SoniComi]

27:25 You know those people have 0 social skills or awareness and don’t understand how uncomfortable/awkward it is for them to resist in this setting.

[@oORoOFLOo]

Welcome to the Champions club, Maniac. 💿

[@xd-ob3ir]

Always have appreciated your consistent, no bullshit approach to this kind of stuff. You're the best in the biz Rich and we're lucky to have you around. Kia mau tonu

[@Scyborg832]

This situation is further proof the internet doesn't care about due process nor believing victims. Its not about who's right or who's wrong, its all about whether YOU'RE right or on the "virtuous side". The amount of people calling for the victim's head initially and insulting her, her friend and her friend's husband that turned a complete 180 once more people chimed in is ridiculous. Its okay to be skeptical, its not okay to demean potential victims merely for speaking their story.

[@davids8127]

All bunch of incells who does that. You can just look at the guy and tell he is a weasel, it's embarrassing they allowed his behaviour, especially that Jackie guy should've called him out.

[@Lucaz99]

I think it’s okay to be skeptical of it until seeing some proof or corroborating evidence but the way some people are vocal about these types of claims is definitely the reason why these go on for so long without people knowing. Some people won’t even give you the benefit of doubt and due process. Even after multiple different people corroborating these claims, it’s suddenly a conspiracy?

[@Scyborg832]

@Lucaz99 it's definitely moving the goal post "Well people were there they'd say something if they saw it." *people corroborate* "Thats their friend it's probably a conspiracy" *pro players and professionals corroborate* "Well testimony only go so far where's the actual evidence"

[@Lucaz99]

@@Scyborg832 exactly. Nothing said will ever be enough for the people often so vocal about this. It’s mostly to women but even male sexual harassment/abuse victims will get their own type of vile and hatred if they speak up. There’s always a natural backlash online every time. I don’t know if I want to know their motives but I know it’s not just “justice”.

[@pappabuN]

@@davids8127 unless you can point to an instance of you saying that before this. That is just bullshit. Just as idiotic as those "incells" you insult.

[@ThisisGettingClipped]

2:40 anyone saying this doesnt know your upload schedule, i saw maniac news, and i told myself ill wait a week for richy to upload with all the best info instead of reading headlines etc. doesnt even make sense why anyone would think u wouldnt talk about this. This is legit your field lol

[@0rionknight636]

Great point about fighting at your work party. Using shame as a weapon to assault someone at the work party is sickening

[@lockheedcolin]

When Richie Lew speaks, I sit my ass down and listen

[@b0lkan]

I think Jacky handled it well, but was there no security there or did the security give maniac leeway due to his fame? EDIT: Just now got to the part about e-sports talent being VIP, fuck that shit. Some Diddy shit. Another great video from Richard "The Children Yearn For The Casinos" Lewis.

[@K1m9857]

Richard Lewis is indeed based Bad actors have made it hard for legit women, who have been sexually assaulted, to step forward and get justice It is very sad to see people on higher tier or upper echelon of society, to abuse their power for pleasure ❤

[@timlikesdragonball259]

Really sad that people were attempting to defend Maniac. I loved listening to the guy and enjoyed his analysis. It is truly saddening to hear of the horrible things he's done.

[@konrad9822]

1:05:30 I think Maniac is one of those people. In cologne I saw him randomly standing in the halls during a break - he had no purpose being there. I asked him for a picture and we took one. After the allegations I thought back to that - fits into the need for attention.

[@Verlisify]

"Could have had it all, but this is me" Same

[@ethan4233]

“if you can’t keep your hands to yourself, it’s nap time” my goat

[@Dizma56]

Thank you for talking about it frankly, I think that's the only way to deal with it! There is no good reason to commit anything of the sort... the more it is undermined the more it happens. Blast should have talked publicly about it first and it would actually have been badass and quite a good integrity image imo. Keep the good work, because that's what you do

[@Schaggar]

Richard you probably won’t see this, but its fucking mental that in the multinational CS scene, the only adult in the room is a guy from the UK, from one of our premium council house shitholes. Never stop being you mate, genuinely the world needs you to give out the reality checks from time to time.

[@tuskutin]

24:18 that is indeed richard

[@cryfest]

Was totally unaware as I only follow CS through Richards these days.

[@Acolyte82]

Maniac turned an alias into a descriptive term which is actually impressive.

[@TheDrgustaf]

As another man who's been in the same position, I think it's very strong of Rich to tell of being SA'd in a social context.

[@etc4xg]

His Twitter responses were painfully cringeworthy

[@johnzenzen9666]

You frustrate me cause you make me challenge my opinions but I'll never cease my appreciation of the fact. This is a topic I think is important and I really appreciate you for talking about in a digestible, entertaining, and reasonable manner. Keep going at it and make idiots like me think more than I want to Mr. Lewis.

[@AlexMontanino]

so excited for this - this situation was a mad ting

[@zhanchi8727]

27:53 Dosia reference out of nowhere

[@qBeYcarpet]

Maniac files: The one you'd least expect

[@azalea_k]

I was following the video with interest but, on a side note, are those Fighting Fantasy and Way of the Tiger adventure gamebooks I see on the shelf?!

[@MarkoLomovic]

I do not think these questions miss forest for the trees since they do reveal a lot about the situations. If you are going to put it in public without involving police you better have answer to those questions. I am always going to be skeptical when people run to twitter first instead of police when calling something sexual assault. We have seen many examples where real victim ends up being accused and often ganged up on twitter by "eyewitnesses and other victims" who are actually sacks of shit . I am not saying that this the case but you can see how asking those questions can be very important. Remember Chris Avellone case ? That is why I do not agree that blast has to do anything, actually I would prefer them to shut up and not overstep, since if there is anything we should have learned by now is that these companies and public opinion can also be just as destructive. I do not want to see more cases of people getting banned or cancelled for no reason at all.

[@sunderkeenin]

yeah it's hard to say that anything short of actual proven criminality should result in forced circuit-level actions with public responses. I think it's very reasonable to consider things at a circuit level when the industry has checked among themselves and found things credible, but the whole social media kerfuffle related to these kinds of things just makes a mess of things for everyone involved. These are situations for police reports. HR is to protect companies. HR is to protect the talent. HR is to protect anyone who is "worth more money". HR is a silencer, not a reporter. I also think victims have the right to speak out publicly, however lawyers will say it is often inadvisable due to the negative impact that can have on cases. I also think based on the content of the video that it is completely fine that Maniac is done. He has done things which based on the number of reasonably trustworthy testimonies is more than a small crime, and he should probably never return to the industry. BLAST doesn't need to make a big statement to never hire Maniac again, and that is fine with me as long as they go through with it. He has the rest of a life to live, and may he live it better.

[@hyde4004]

Well idk, if I had been sexually assaulted, especially by a public figure, I would for sure want it to be known in the space they interact in that they are a predator. Not just for the sake of, you know, carrying out some justice, but also to warn other people in the space. The police isn't some benevolent perfect entity that always punishes the wrongdoer, and even if they do it's not a fast process. Also it's not exactly as if they always even give a fuck about victims. No, I can't know 100% certainly that Maniac did what he is accused of, but judging from what we know about how many people witnessed it and how blast concluded in their internal investogation that he did commit these acts and removed him from their talent pool, I'd say it's very, very likely that the allegations are true. And people who commit sexual assault deserve to be brought to light in the public eye. Why do you think these things continue to happen and indeed are able to go on for so long? Because people keep quiet and don't make a fuzz, often out of a fear of damage to their own career. This notion that they should just be silently gated out and never be brought public is the exact reason why this shit is able to keep happening.

[@zilliq-qz5uw]

They investigated the allegations, realized they were substantialized and fired the guy. From there they had two choices: hide everything, hoping nobody would notice, allowing him to get hired by ESL/PGL and continue groping women in the scene or say what happened, standing for women and making the scene a slightly better place.

[@Francisco-dl1nb]

just to offer a small comment on something which I disagree on (since I agree with pretty much everything else so far): I think it's unfair to act like those who were surprised at how no one did anything were expecting violence as a response from the bystanders. That's really not fair and it's a way to skirt an important question about that night too. You can talk about the power dynamics as a reason, of course, which is completely valid! But there are many ways to deal with situations like this (mostly by bystanders) that don't require violence. Of course, it could always be the case where people did try again and again to reason with him and nothing changed that night but yeah, didn't seem genuine to go through that whole point acting like people expected someone to attack Maniac w violence. Just to finish, this part of the discussion isn't really important to me, because I don't place that responsibility on the victims and bystanders and more on the aggressor ofc, but I hoped that you would go through it in a different way. As always, I appreciate your efforts and the way you break down things, thank you!

[@realmongolianhours6502]

Maniac living up to his name…. Sad he threw away a career at LDLC and Titan and Envy and then casting for this.

[@KingOfBlades27]

Yep, I can't understand people throwing away their careers for something stupid like this.

[@LizardMammaryGlands]

@@KingOfBlades27 I guess it goes to show just how far goes their lack of self control.

[@s0meRand0m129]

he was kicked off Titan for ScreaM

[@realmongolianhours6502]

@@s0meRand0m129 true but he was still at one point t1 player. Crazy to think you’d throw away a job casting/analyzing for the rest of your life for this.

[@berserkki-4357]

@@realmongolianhours6502Drugs and alcohol man. Some people just go in a weird pathetic form having drank too much. I’d be lopking forward to seeing him sober up and have back on stage but nowadays’ culture don’t give second chances

[@Bennime_Once]

off topic but you should get a volume master add on to boost audio above 100% if videos are to quiet

[@BatteryAz1z]

That's called normalization.

[@c1ssalc]

Based as usual. Thanks for responding to this.

[@barnie321]

There is a middle ground here between Jacky just moving away and it not working and giving maniac a shoeing

[@RatedX29]

How have I not heard of any of this?

[@littlebylittle877]

The allegations are bad enough but the fact that blast tried to conspire to obfiscate the matter even towards one of the victims is properly evil too

[@drainfafnir4465]

How did they attempt to obfuscate it? By not releasing it to the public? Why should they have done that?

[@zilliq-qz5uw]

​​@@drainfafnir4465 Richie Lewd didn't go through the whole tweet but she explains it: blast would not give her a written recognition of the result of their investigation. Also blast have a confidentiality agreement that prevent them from sharing this information to other broadcast teams. So in the end nothing would prevent other organisations to hire maniac, they would not know why he was fired from blast and he could continue groping women at after party at ESL or PGL. Turns out she was right as blast put out a tweet without naming the talent that was fired, nor explaining why he was fired. Blast didn't want to get the bad publicity of being the ones outing the community's favorite analyst so the victims had to do it

[@bigmacmachinebroke1064]

@@drainfafnir4465you must be in high school bro people need to know so he can’t do this type of thing at a different event

[@drainfafnir4465]

@@bigmacmachinebroke1064 I won’t tell you what my education level is, but on expected outcome, I imagine it’s higher than yours. Nobody needs to know lmao. This is a matter for the police, not the court of public opinion. Unless you think the public needs to know so Maniac can be guaranteed to never get an analyst job again, which I also have issue with for other reasons.

[@bigmacmachinebroke1064]

@@drainfafnir4465 I agree it should go to the police but it didn’t so all you can do at this point is try and not allow a situation like that to happen again

[@komzatonHC]

I really want to know what's going on in people's heads when they do shit like this. It can't end well for you, ever.

[@aranin.]

I hope you could tell me the brand of you glasses sir Richard Lewis. I really would like to buy that kind of glasses.

[@Gibbysaurio]

The Maniac side of Counterstrike

[@realest_JoJo]

damn that boy is cooked, sounds like it was a long time coming too

[@darrenfleming7901]

very based Richard once again, it’s so true that most people seem to react the same way to most most benign idiotic drama as they do to actual serious and even criminal shit, to them it’s just about whether or not they like the people concerned and whether the news they hear makes the people they like or dislike look bad. That’s not a serious attitude to any of this and it’s impossible to try to improve the culture or environment when people don’t even seem aware of the gravity of it. And on the subject of “public opinion”, the people who cry about “baseless accusations” are so fucking naive if they think these allegations will ever be dealt with internally. Unless they have really strict and well defined hr rules and protocols (which need to be fought for in the first place), a company is always going to choose to sweep it under the rug because it’s bad publicity and it hurts their business. So yeah, airing this shit out on Twitter is really messy and sometimes unfair, but it’s not like there’s a better, unbiased alternative to solve these conflicts.

[@MrDucktastic]

30-40 minute mark had me smirking. "Why didn't Jacky do something about it?" Just reminded me when Richard grabbed Loba - something the Stockholm Hell In A Cell Champion is STILL TO THIS DAY persecuted for this. The esports community will either go after you for thuggery or cowardice. Jacky absolutely took the best route out of this with least risk to his career.

[@OnlyJoshinTV]

Loda not Loba :P

[@MrDucktastic]

@@OnlyJoshinTV And this is why I shouldn’t write comments at 3am after wine. The typo shall stay!

[@sanseleton9179]

Why are we prizing career over protecting your loved ones especially when you're present during their sexual assault? I feel like I'm going fucking insane. Are you serious?

[@MrDucktastic]

@@sanseleton9179 He shielded her without punching out Maniac. Then stepped up and spoke out when Blast didn’t do anything. Everyone is giving Jacky grief for not physically attacking Maniac for his behaviour. Unfortunately in 2024, if you step up and lay out a creep it generally ends up worse for you. It’s much easier for them to prove a black eye in court over someone touching your gf. I am not saying that this is “good” but realistically, the first one to throw a punch gets done. The reason I mention it - when Richard was confronted by Loda backstage, he did what the community are telling Jacky to do. And Richard received all the punishments and has been chastised by the community for nearly a decade and ongoing. Loda had no repercussions except a battered ego. My point was: Jacky did the right things and came out of this ok. He may have been a lot worse off if he used Maniacs bald spot as a target like the community says he should have done.

[@sanseleton9179]

@@MrDucktastic I know about the Loda incident I have followed RL for a long time. I get why you mention it, but its not entirely relevant here. Why is violence the first thing both you and jacky have clung to as the only necessary response here? I'd definitely argue that it'd have been more than appropriate, maybe even necessary for jacky to use physical violence to defend himself and his woman but that isn't the point. The point is that jacky's (and other witnesses to be fair) entire lack of any action allowed this to happen to his own fiance AND others. He does state that they tried to get away and "body block" initially but he allowed Maniac to pursue them both to another part of the venue where the assault continued. At that point, your options are A) Get Maniac removed from the venue (Where was security? If it was there, why wasn't it used?) B) Leave the venue C) Discourage Maniac from attempting further assault by defending yourself. if you can't remove maniac, leave. I don't imagine they couldn't leave, but even so. If "being a professional" and not wanting to garner hatred from an online community are your moral justifications for not using violence in self defense, even as a last resort, enabling the sexual violence onto your fiance in the same room as you, then jacky is a severely spineless person.

[@sanseleton9179]

Agree with everything you've said here but I still just cannot fathom jacky's decision making. I'm sorry but no good man puts his career safety over stopping his woman being sexually harassed RIGHT IN FRONT of him. And the question begs throughout all of this is where was the mention of police investigation? I'm not doubting the legitimacy of the claims but if there were that many victims and that many incidents, there surely there would be plenty of testimony to put forward to police?

[@F11ch]

if it wasn't for Maniac's own tweets, I really wouldn't have cared before it was in front of a judge lmao

[@brunolima7402]

Im far from being a simp but yeah, groping is a big no-no.. or pretty much any unwanted touches. Surprised that Daisy fiance was so "composed" in that situation.

[@snafuv2520]

Outrageous that comment chain about Thooorin still having Maniac on his podcasts because it'll "bring views" then continue on calling Thooorin a piece of shit for something that he has never done or will do. Mods allow it ofc. He's discontinued content on similar grounds before in other Esports so no idea why now all of a sudden he'd break that for Maniac.

[@LMNP]

Guess he didn't name himself Maniac * Par hazard

[@CYellowan]

It's weird. For like 2 decades, booth babes existed. That's a pretty long time-duration. Always thought it was gross, because I put the game first.

[@KIager]

I always thought I'd get to go to an E3, I just hoped those ladies didn't try to talk to me, or whatever it is they do. Ladies, I'm here to play Halo, please take your hands off me.

[@OverproofMMA]

Richard Lewis is gigabased

[@rechtsextremistenmussmanmi184]

Very based video Mr. Lewis

[@NicholasEllis-rs3nx]

Liquid Astralis coL Falcons FaZe seem to be suffering from not having gambling sponsorship much like Chinese CS growth or growing others m

[@gortbot]

i was seeing posts straight up like "guys is this true? tell me what to believe in" so i made a post in one of the cs twitter groups when things spilled over saying something like "its in your best interests to learn about the situation yourself and form your own opinions on things" but because i "look like a girl" i just get bullied for it instead lmfao this scene will never mature properly

[@garlic_roast]

I'm so sorry this is happening to you

[@zilliq-qz5uw]

Tell them to blindly believe what Richie says, it's probably the closest to the truth they can get. Also by watching his content they will grow a sense of critical thinking

[@belalmohammedalrasheed2195]

ive been in esports since 2009 and here since 2014.. fuck me love, if its not corrupted money, its predators from one of the best. cheers cunts, big trip inc

[@skatersridge]

27:52 haha is that a Zeus impression?

[@ophiuckus1635]

Dosia

[@exactly9099]

(Obligatory haven't watched the whole vid yet) I have respected Maniac for years. It sucks to see allegations come out. I hope they are not true, but definitely could be. If he did what is alleged, I hope he gets everything coming to him. Will definitely miss his analysis though.

[@felixnascimento7045]

People need Jesus. The root of these issues is sin. Lust is one of the most powerful bondages that a man can have.

[@hellsSG]

Maniac? Really? Seemed like the last guy to pull something like that.

[@Realblack_m0nster]

I was SA at a bacholor party by a friend who ive known for 14 years. BTW im twice his size in height/build and he still felt like he could do this to me. This can happen to anyone. I really hope that Maniac comes to understand truly what he did and not just "im bad with alcohol, sorry". Its really sad to me that this has happened even though i know non of the people involved.

[@prawtism]

And he's called Maniac 😂

[@andreengelbrecht8467]

This Maniac thing wasn't handled very well. Blast needed to resolve it with Maniac before it blew over in the public. There's usually more than one side of a story but a lot of drama could have been prevented.

[@bacchusignoramus]

rasputin needs to do better. I cannot imagine this happening to the woman and him just watching

[@sejr3239]

Man what a maniac

[@monkeyofdoom1257]

Esports is still a cesspit.. check, people hating Richard for no reason check

[@svsv1191]

He's a weirdo wacky degenerate like us many people in esports, plenty of reasons do dislike him

[@konrad9822]

Thank you for speaking up. We need to make this space better for women.

[@raichu5844]

Wouldnt expect anything less from someone who looks like you

[@Jane-qh2yd]

@@raichu5844 you a certified diddy party invitee

[@kkplx]

100% appropriate reaction by the general public to doubt the allegation after the initial response. good that more people came forward and corroborated her initial statements. She published allegations, he denied the wrongdoing she implied, then everyone bodied him with the truth. I'd still prefer this to be a matter of the courts, but with the amount of people speaking up, it's a rare post-metoo case of a woman speaking up that seems genuine to me. Don't like that you're a bit too much on the "women have it so hard" side of this discussion, when the negative attention they get is the price you pay for the women are wonderful effect in a male-dominant space. You're a public figure, you're gonna get shit. Different shit for men and women, but shit nonetheless. comes with the territory. regardless, thank you for breaking down the various voices in the discussion/happening at hand - i'm not exactly keyed into esports gossip(?) but it was interesting to follow along your explanations as to how the narrative developed. (40 minutes in as i type)

[@premiumfruits3528]

If there are receipts, I have no problem condemning someone who does stuff like this. All too often, however, there are a lot of accusations and allegation, and no evidence beyond a bunch of "eye witnesses", and no one has any actual proof of anything. Combine that with the current political zeitgeist of western civilization, and you often wind up in a situation where innocent men are nailed to a cross to appease the masses. I'm not saying that's what happened here, I'm just saying, I can completely understand why so many peoples' immediate reaction was skepticism and asking for hard evidence.

[@jungle_cs]

I think what's most baffling is the whole maniac stealing someone's wife and being a homewrecker blowing up and within a week the rest of the stuff that already came to light finally blowing up.

[@svsv1191]

Maniac stole some ones wife? Who? How tall is even maniac

[@nwgverified]

That's a mature take

[@Close_Call]

Don't want to be a Maniac apologists but surely you could have just called him out during the 3hrs+ of the incident? Slap him, shout at him etc. It would be uncomfortable but surely he would get the msg?

[@OnlyJoshinTV]

I'm assuming you're not referring to Rich - he wasn't at the event.

[@Close_Call]

@@OnlyJoshinTV of course not. I was referring to the woman in question and people around the whole situation. Call him out straight away, why wait for hours?

[@zilliq-qz5uw]

​@@Close_Call they did, he wouldn't stop

[@pappabuN]

It was also pretty telling that there was a group of people who only started to sort of maybe believe it happened because Jacky, a man, said something about it.

[@litarea]

I'm sure that had a part in it, but as a casual CS viewer I personally had no idea who anyone was who had made statements originally. Jacky is a familiar (and implicitly trusted) name and face in the scene. Speaking for myself, I would've been equally convinced if it had been Freya or Heccu etc who had witnessed it and made a statement.

[@vyyr]

yeah, no. Thats most likely your hatred for the "other side" of the political spectrum speaking.

[@ElementalDj]

@@vyyr The comment states a group of people, not everyone. It's obvious they're referring to incels in replies who jump to conspiracies that everyone's out to get Maniac for clout or some shite

[@burden88]

Donezo gonezo. Who's next?

[@coooolibri]

this should have nothing to do with working there as a talent, or being professional. im not talking about hitting maniac, but how can he do that to so many, and none of the women went to their attendant, and how did they not get multiple dudes together whos girls this occured to, and tell maniac to stop, or this is gonna get messy. then maniac shits his pants. these are adults, and way too few actions were taken, and yall talk about this has happened at multiple events. how do the people allow it to happen?

[@zilliq-qz5uw]

Because he's VIP

[@BarovTV]

Aptly named apparently

[@AlbertRackzz420-uq2qq]

bro these people have no life experience no knowledge and no logical thinking its not the victims fault bro no funny shit is it harder to just let your uncle touch you once every 6 months when you visit or is it harder to tell your parents that embarrassing shit, tear the family apart, get the ire of your uncle's side of the family, risk people not believing you ,etc etc

[@jigsaw_3156]

great breakdown of Maniac' responses. the way he made it all about himself was very off-putting.

[@lluvik2450]

i guess esports afterparties are at places that don't have bouncers...

[@Bane_Diesel]

They were being outstanding professionals in that situation. To try and remove themselves from the situation instead of making a scene. Even after the predators get removed it also unfairly stains the career of the victims. Which is fuckd.

[@hyde4004]

@@Bane_Diesel This is such a bs angle. The reason that predators keep being able to exist is because they aren't brought to the public and shit keeps being hidden. If shit like this was ousted publicly immediately these fucks wouldn't keep getting away with it. And if it "leaves a stain" on a victims career, what does that say about the larger esports community? If victims of substantiated sexual assault are treated as somehow worse off after going public, then maybe esports as a community doesn't deserve the talent of said victims. This is such a fucked mentality and also the reason why this shit doesn't change. Why do you think Hollywood is such a nest of vile fucks? Cause nobody talks and people are allowed to go on.

[@14_IQ.points]

freaky maniac

[@Aegon23]

Indeed, it is unfortunate that all of this transpired. However, it's equally disappointing that Jacky failed to act decisively. Criticize me all you want, but I would never stand by and allow my wife to be subjected to such behaviour under the guise of "professionalism" or because the offender happens to be a colleague. In my view, Jacky lacks the courage to stand up for what truly matters. Its your wife mate. Spineless.

[@KIager]

No reason to escalate. I've been in similar, though less serious, situations. I think the only right thing to do is to ask your girl what she wants you to do. Usually it's nothing, if you have to ask. Sometimes ask sternly for an apology. What they don't want is for you to also make a fool of yourself by acting like a caveman and entering a physical altercation with a filthy drunk loser, especially at an event with colleagues. The situation arose from a lack of self control, so adding to that by losing control is not going to help anyone. However, I think future events should have visible staff/bouncers, ready to assist and/or escort any victims or ne'er-do-wells out and away.

[@Aegon23]

@@KIager Each to their own, just as with Jacky-everyone has their preferences. Personally, I would not tolerate it, but as I mentioned, each to their own. However, regardless of individual beliefs on the matter, it is evident that several members of our community have condoned allowing such behaviour simply because the perpetrator was a colleague. Furthermore, we have learned that Lewis approved of how the situation was handled, implying that he, too, finds it acceptable for one's wife to experience sexual assault as long as it is committed by a colleague. In my honest and humble opinion, they are all spineless cowards. All of them.

[@KIager]

@@Aegon23 Richard "Hell in a Cell" Lewis said he would've hit Maniac if he was there.

[@sanseleton9179]

A voice of reason. I like Richard and I get Jacky's his mate but i'm sorry, in no circumstance should we be saying a man allowing his fiance to get sexually assaulted in the same room as him without putting a stop to it immediately is OK because he had his career to think about. Spineless is most certainly the word for it.

[@mindaugasmazrimas4554]

Yea, real smart idea to assault someone at a party in a foreign country, cant see how that could go wrong and ruin his life… Idiot

[@DodgySmalls]

"I don't know why someone in their mid 30's would want to talk to a 17 year old ..." I don't personally care about all the dancing around such a specific number, but when you see these guys communicating, even non sexually, with people so much younger than them, it's an immediate red flag. Well adjusted adults don't go out of their way to do that. Intentionally opening and or pursuing multiple DMs with someone that age is inherently creepy to me, regardless of explicit intention or sexual tone. I think Rich is getting hung up on the minor angle, which to be fair is the slant the article was taking. To me it's important contextual information in weighing the behaviour to see that Maniac was happy enough to target women far younger than himself. Regardless of any legal reasoning, it's just a lot creepier to do this to someone who is like 15+ years younger than you. The author could've probably presented that in a less charged and leading way, but the fact remains that if that evidence was legitimate his actions are much more predatory and pre meditated.

[@LizardMammaryGlands]

I agree with you, but that does not necessarily make someone an ill-intented individual, perhaps simply socially underdeveloped, as was pointed out. I'm not trying to save face, I agree with what you're saying, I just don't think it is damning of someone, just indicative of extreme maladjustment, which leads to damning actions like the ones he took. I'm not saying, of course, that I wouldn't steer clear from a person like this.

[@hyde4004]

@@LizardMammaryGlands Idk man. What does a 30 yo talk to random 18 year olds about? Even if you're "just maladjusted", you have nothing to share with a teenager. To me it's inherently kind of predatory behaviour to go out of ones way to pursue such conversations.

[@perdyIo]

Datecels in shambles

[@jeremyniels]

Im pretty sure maniac is in some kind of healthcare profession , not sure where i got that information or wether its accurate . Believe he is providing therapy. Wonder if his real life job is in danger aswell

[@Bobinthemirror]

1:12:53 Because you are a goat of journalism and people in power positions initially tried to stain your name to escape accountability, I reckon

[@Pr1sma84]

case is done 🔞

[@AMEHZ1]

eyes wide shut LOL

[@SoyFelipeCTM]

Now get pimp out of events

[@EmmyPZcss]

It is hard enough for women in gaming to be accepted (or respected). I have major respect for women choosing work spaces which were traditionally male dominated. And while we don't like to admit it - we very much know that we sometimes need (male) friends to protect us. So I'm glad you offered your friend help if she ever needs it. It is ALWAYS nice to know/hear, not just to assume/expect it from your friends. Good on you, Rich! Also, I completely understand Jacky's non-aggressive behaviour. He was right to do so in that setting. The couple did everything right. No shame on him and even less on her ofc. She endured so much touching of a person she didn't want to be touched by and made it clear to him, too, without losing her shit. Women should ALWAYS think twice before reacting to situations like this. There are so many factors to be considered and following this story on social media made it so obvious that many men simply don't think about it. You touched on some of them, so I hope some ppl understand it better now and stop calling Jacky a "pussy" or w.e.

[@svsv1191]

cringe, do you even fuck women of just floor mat white knight?

[@KIager]

Amen. The people calling him a "pussy" (great choice of word, guys) strike me as people that would've happily escalated a situation that already arose from a lack of self control. Just talk to your girl/female friend, and listen to her, within reason. Don't also act asinine "in her honor" when all this would do is mortify her even more and make her lose respect for you, too.

[@svsv1191]

Cringe, do you sleep with women too or only floor mat white knight?

[@svsv1191]

crinnge

[@svsv1191]

super duper cringe simp don't sleep with women alert

[@CryoCare]

This person should be fired and blacklisted. It's pretty fucking simple.

[@giceism2832]

YIPII YAPI 1 hour

[@hobonise]

"What you guys dont realize was I was fucked up on drugs" not the greatest defence

[@CoffeeNo0b0514]

FFS, maniac was one of the best. Hate to see this