The co-founder of Avowed developer Obsidian is urging anyone who was rejected for an art position at the Microsoft-owned studio to speak to a lawyer and seek legal action after art director Matt Hansen accidentally exposed alleged racist hiring practices.

Chris Avellone was one of five co-founders that came together to create Obsidian Entertainment, a developer that struck big when it developed Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic 2. Avellone served as design lead on the project and continued working with them until 2015.

A screenshot from the pre-order trailer for Avowed – YouTube, IGN

READ: ‘Avowed’ Art Director Exposed by Elon Musk for Alleged Racist & Illegal Hiring Practices, Musk: ‘It Won’t End Well for Him.’

Obsidian, now owned by Microsoft, has encountered a great deal of controversy surrounding its upcoming first person fantasy RPG Avowed. When the game’s use of pronoun selection in a fantasy environment drew the attention of X owner and world’s richest man Elon Musk, its art director Matt Hansen jumped all over the situation, launching into profanity laced tirades against the Tesla boss from his Bluesky (of course…) account.

Following Hansen’s fit, people started digging into statements he’d made in the past. That was when YouTube personality Asmongold made an interesting discovery. Hansen had in the past noted on social media that he made hiring based on race a priority.

 

“Reminder to black artists out there who are looking for portfolio reviews or job advice: my DMs are open and you will always have my priority,” the uncovered Hansen quote said. “We got too many crusty white dudes in this field, please let me help you replace me one day — I want to go back to living in the woods.”

Making hiring decisions based on race is a clear violation of Article VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

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Additionally, back in March, Musk had made a statement against businesses that institute racist hiring practices against “white dudes.” Hansen jumped all over that statement as well.

“Oh Elon, you sweet summer child,” Hansen wrote back in March in response to Musk’s statement. “This will only embolden me, you sad sack of s***.”

With this alleged illegal activity exposed, Musk has used his platform to highlight it publicly, even going so far as to tag the CEO of Microsoft in posts about Obsidian’s hiring practices.

Avellone spoke out in response to this ongoing issue.

“Based on recent news, if you were rejected from an art position at Obsidian in the past few years, call a lawyer,” he said in a post on X. “Discrimination in hiring, esp [sic] for a Microsoft studio, can ensure you don’t need to apply for a job ever again. And it shouldn’t cost you a cent to initiate legal action — the lawyers will know what the case is worth, and they’ll do the heavy lifting.”

He goes on to note that his opinion on this situation has nothing to do with his political stance.

“This has nothing to do with my personal politics, but I believe strongly that hiring discrimination for any reason isn’t something the industry should tolerate,” he said. “I hope you agree.”

Of course, people challenged Avellone on this alleged Obsidian racist hiring policy, with one X user telling him (the co-founder of the company) that art directors have no say in hiring.

“Any professional Art Director is 100%+ [sic] involved in hiring art applicants,” he said bluntly. “‘Hiring Managers’ at a studio are not the ones who make the call. They are the ones who organize the interview process, not decide who to interview and accept.”

Avellone is no stranger to the gaming industry’s hypocrisy and cancel culture. In 2020, he was accused by two women of sexual misconduct and harassment. Without any proof, Avellone was immediately let go from several gaming projects.

However, he sued his two accusers for libel and won a seven-figure settlement from them. The accusers then recanted their statements, noting that the press had “misinterpreted” their comments.

“Mr. Avellone never sexually abused either of us,” the two women said after losing the case. “We have no knowledge that he has ever sexually abused any women.”

Do you think Obsidian and Microsoft are legally vulnerable over racist hiring practices? Sound off an let us know your thoughts!