2022 Rooster Teeth Workplace Misconduct Allegations
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Overview
2022 Rooster Teeth Workplace Misconduct Allegations refers to a series of accusations made by ex-Rooster Teeth employee Kdin Jenzen accusing the company and its employees of workplace misconduct, including alleged harassment, months of unpaid work, referring to her as the homophobic F-slur as a nickname and fostering a "crunch culture." The allegations were posted to TwitLonger in October 2022 after Rooster Teeth allegedly laid off several employees. In the following days, numerous ex-Rooster Teeth employees and contractors came out with similar allegations, and Rooster Teeth's ex-Director gave his support to Jenzen as well. Rooster Teeth then posted an official statement about the accusations that was largely criticized for perceptibly missing the point, failing to address specific portions of the allegations and not taking accountability.
History
2022 Layoffs
On October 14th, 2022, ex-Rooster Teeth employee Matt Bragg announced on Twitter[12] that he was laid off from the company (seen below). Numerous other employees were laid off or "dissolved" as well, including Matt Bragg of Achievement Hunger, artist Courtney Brenek, graphic designer Josh Bailey, the entire event staff, Inside Gaming host Brian Gaar and art director Marcus Gray LaPorte. On October 15th, a Redditor then made a post to /r/roosterteeth[13] sharing the tweets by each person announcing their departure from Rooster Teeth.
Kdin Jenzen's "My Final Words On Rooster Teeth"
On October 15th, 2022, former Rooster Teeth employee Kdin Jenzen, most known for her work on Achievement Hunter and as the voice of May Marigold in RWBY, made a post to Twitter[1] (@KdinJenzen) writing, "My final words on Rooster Teeth & just SOME of my experiences there," sharing a TwitLonger[2] link (seen below). In the TwitLonger, Jenzen makes numerous allegations of workplace harassment against Rooster Teeth and its employees. People assumed Jenzen was laid off along with the other employees but claims to have resigned in the TwitLonger.
First, Jenzen claims that between February and November 2013, she was unpaid for all of her contract work, writing that she brought it up once but was told, “it’s been so long already, it’s not really a big deal is it?”
Next, she alleges that people called her "faggot" as a nickname, which was shortened to "Fugz" on-camera as a coded way to refer to the nickname. In the TwitLonger, she writes, "For any fans who used that nickname for me for years, that’s what you were calling me."
Jenzen alleges that she would often stay at work editing videos from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and that this type of crunch time was encouraged. She then alleges harassment, writing:
"From that point on harassment started, and not just toward me. Any time I brought up mistreatment or that 'making fun of people in content only encourages the community to hate us' – I was waved away saying 'IT’S JUST A JOKE! Ignore the comments!' This “ignore the comments” mantra was a way to excuse their own behavior. Anyone who was not “important” was constantly made fun of with no way to defend themselves or be part of the content in a way to defend themself even jokingly so. We were silenced at every turn."
Additionally, Jenzen also claimed that the harassment and work culture caused her to neglect her health. She was purportedly hospitalized with pneumonia and her work schedule was not accommodating when she returned. She eventually moved departments, where she was promised a producer job and a showrunner job for a podcast. She was uncredited for her work on the podcast, was hardly allowed on the show and was pushed to edit three videos a day.
Jenzen then wrote that in 2016, she came out as trans and claims the harassment got worse. She said, "People had no idea how to deal with a trans woman, so I was interacted with even less and only trotted out every so often to show off 'We Hire LGBTQIA+ People!'" People purportedly stopped using the "Fugz" nickname. Jenzen brought the harassment up to HR, who had Jenzen join a call with the manager who apologized dismissively. She claimed she also told one of the "founding fathers" of the company, who told her she should quit and was "too nice" for Rooster Teeth.
Jenzen continued that until 2020, she was paid $40,000 USD per year as a producer/director, writing that this is "below the industry standard." She then writes that crunch time during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic was "monstrous," adding that during the 2021 Anniversary Stream Event she needed to leave mid-production for life-saving surgery. Someone she was working with took the credit for all the work she did for the event and blamed her for anything that went wrong.
She also wrote that "Business Resource Groups" were created to help deal with "representation issues inside the company." She purportedly tried to help with these, but in mid-2021 was told, "we’ve done enough for the queer community," although she felt they had "barely accomplished anything." She asked for transparency about how some employees were treated at the company but was told, "the company is going through a lot right now just leave it alone." She then wrote:
I left Rooster Teeth because, despite thinking I could make positive change in the company, they proved that I couldn’t every step of the way. From 2013 until 2022, I did what I could to help my fellow employees, make positive change, and help the industry.
Finally, she alleges that all her voiceover work she did for Rooster Teeth before leaving, writing that these allegations are "just the surface level" and that she still struggles with "emotional, mental, physical, and financial damage." The post gained over 61,000 likes and 14,000 retweets in two days (shown below, click to expand).
Current and Ex-Rooster Teeth Employees Respond to Jenzen's Allegations
Following Jenzen's TwitLonger post, numerous current and former employees of Rooster Teeth and its subsidiaries made statements about the brand, showing support for Jenzen, confirming her allegations and criticizing the company. On October 15th, 2022, the head writer of RWBY tweeted,[3] "Lots of feelings. I hope my friends and former coworkers all find places that make them feel enriched, fulfilled, valued, seen, and appreciated," garnering over 1,000 likes in two days. Former employee and Twitter[4] user @zoeterhune then posted, "I left when I realized I was never going to get paid enough for the pressure of having millions of dollars of ad revenue on me and my team's shoulders. that said, some of the shit i witnessed was fucking nuts," garnering over 1,400 likes in the same span of time.
Later that day, Rooster Teeth's former director Gavin Free tweeted[5] a statement confirming that he and others used to call Kdin the slur as a nickname and apologized for it, garnering over 16,000 likes in two days (shown below).
On October 16th, 2022, Twitter[6] user @where_is_squat wrote that talking to Rooster Teeth HR was the "biggest waste of time," garnering over 2,100 likes in a day. Twitter[7] user and former Rooster Teeth employee @ClayToneProd then made a thread confirming some of the allegations, garnering over 1,300 likes in a day.
Rooster Teeth's Response
On October 16th, 2022, the Rooster Teeth Twitter[8] account posted an official statement responding to the allegations. In the statement, it began by writing that "2020 was a year of broad societal change that brought past conduct to our attention." It continued that the company purportedly brought in new leadership to drive internal work over the years, writing, "As our organization continues to evolve, this will be an ongoing exercise." It then directly acknowledged Kdin, writing that the brand was grateful for her collaboration:
"Leadership, management and personnel across the company have evolved over the past two decades to build what we believe is a safe, secure and inclusive workplace. We are disheartened to hear of anyone who has experienced pain resulting from prior experiences working at Rooster Teeth and support the resolution of interpersonal conflicts through direct and honest dialog. New leadership has worked to address and investigate past conduct, acknowledging that mediation si complex and doesn't guarantee a perfect solution."
Rooster Teeth's Twitter then wrote that while it is committed to hearing all sides of each dispute and upholding the company's values, it will not comment on these matters publicly out of "respect for all parties." The company then addressed employee turnover and letting employees go, writing:
"We are not immune to the disruptive forces that affect every business[…] like many other companies, we are experiencing people leaving to pursue different career paths and opportunities, while others are making bigger life changes. As a result, we had to make tough decisions to reduce a handful of roles in select departments to adjust to marketplace realities."
The brand's Twitter account then finished the statement by writing that it genuinely believes in the progress its team has made over the past two years, writing that Rooster Teeth stands by its words and actions, stating, "We will continue to move forward together as a passionate, creative company and community with open hearts and minds." The post gained over 3,600 likes and 2,000 quote retweets in a day (shown below). The response was largely criticized in the comments shortly after.
Online Reactions
As the allegations went viral in the days after Jenzen's TwitLonger post, numerous current and ex-employees and contractors for Rooster Teeth came forward with similar allegations, while others made memes and reacted to the situation. On October 16th, 2022, Twitter[9] user @Graven131982 retweeted an old Rooster Teeth post supporting trans rights, writing, "This didn't age well. 🙄," garnering over 2,000 likes in a day (shown below, left). On the same day, Twitter[10] user and ex-Rooster Teeth employee @_rufhaus posted a TwitLonger[11] supporting allegations that Rooster Teeth has an HR problem, garnering over 10,000 likes in a day (shown below, right, click to expand).
On the same day, video game writer Alanah Pearce, who used to work at Rooster Teeth, posted a video to YouTube answering questions about the scandal and going over it, garnering over 161,000 views in a day (shown below).
Search Interest
Unavailable.
External References
[1] Twitter – KdinJenzen
[2] TwitLonger – My final words on Rooster Teeth
[4] Twitter – zoeterhune
[6] Twitter – where_is_squat
[7] Twitter – ClayToneProd
[8] Twitter – RoosterTeeth
[9] Twitter – Graven131982
[10] Twitter – My experience with Rooster Teeth
[11] TwitLonger – twitlonger
[13] Reddit – roosterteeth