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Dota 2 caster Toby "TobiWan" Dawson has been accused of harassing and ‘holding down’ an artist in a hotel room.
TobiWan is one of many individuals in the Dota 2 esports community who have been under fire over the past few days as multiple people in the community have spoken out about instances of sexual harassment by popular figures in the Dota 2 esports industry.
Timeline of Events Which Lead to TobiWan's Accusation
After more and more people were alleged of sexual harassment and wrongdoings, and North American caster Grant "GranDGranT" Harris was accused of rape, TobiWan made a post on his Twitter account condemning the NA caster and calling it sickening.
However, after he was called out in one of the replies to this post, TobiWan also agreed that he wasn’t innocent and that he was a better man now.
Following this @cofactorstrudel who previously made allegations against GrandGrant’s sexual misconduct at TI7’s afterparty, called him and stated that many women in the Dota 2 esports industry has asked her to be wary of TobiWan and that “Some of his victims are STILL too scared and traumatised to come forward, even anonymously.”
She even claimed that TobiWan had put a woman in therapy with his behaviour.
Many other members of the Dota 2 community also called him out for his past behaviour, following TobiWan’s initial post. With a now-deleted Twitlonger, Tobiwan responded to it by stating that he was sickened by these instances of sexual harassment in the Dota 2 esports scene and that he “will forever support those who are championing for positive change.”
Finally, after deleting the Twitlonger post, Tobiwan admitted that he had committed some horrible actions in the past and that he wished to atone for them.
After this tweet, Tobiwan’s former casting partner at joinDOTA, Austin "Capitalist" Walsh tweeted that since it was clear that Tobiwan’s actions weren’t because of social awkwardness, he would publicly support anyone making an allegation against Tobi.
Capitalist’s casting partner Trent also seconded this and offered his support.
Replying to this post, an artist @botjira who has made Dota 2 art in the past stated that TobiWan pinned her down in a hotel room and that she almost didn’t escape.
AFK Gaming reached out to TobiWan for his response before publishing this article, but has not received one at the time of writing.
He denies the allegations that @botjira had made, stating: *At no point did I pin her down or stop her from leaving*. His full statement regarding this incident reads:
@Botjira:
This has come as a total surprise to me.
I first met her at an event in Singapore where she created artwork for me to keep. I messaged her on Twitter to thank her. I was staying on for another week after the event. During this time, I messaged her and asked if we could meet up. She agreed and came around to the apartment I was renting.
It was small and there wasn’t a lot of space. We spent time talking on the bed - which was the only place to sit. During this time, I thought she was interested in me and I tried to lean in to get closer. She pulled back and I realised I misread the situation. We then talked for a bit longer and she said she had to leave. I felt awkward about the situation and said she didn’t have to go. But she wanted to go and I didn’t stop her.
*At no point did I pin her down or stop her from leaving*
However, he admits to wrongful sexual conduct and harassment against two other unnamed women.
- A co-worker at JoinDota with whom he was in a relationship
- A cosplayer he met at TI5.
He also apologised for the insensitive and crude comments he has made in the past. He specified two instances which were:
- His comments on Twitter against Australian Dota 2 caster LlamaDownUnder, after NA Dota 2 pro player ixmike88 made fun of her transexual partner.
- His comments during a 2012 broadcast at Starladder when he was casting an All-Women Dota 2 final.
Update:
