Over the weekend, allegations were levied against Rooster Teeth of mismanagement, crunch, and pay disparity. It has since shared an internal statement with staff, "[We are] not denying the existence of past events. This is a difficult and disheartening situation for so many reasons."
The statement was signed by Jordan, likely general manager Jordan Levin, and it continued, "We are working on evolving a culture we can be proud of based on past transgressions, but when new things come to light that happened in the past, it takes some time to get a clear picture. We want to fix things quickly, things like issues and things like pain, but we also need to audit things properly" (as reported by GameIndustry.biz).
However, the statement also claims that volunteer voice-over work is a perk, "You have seen the internal casting calls from the audio team to volunteer for VO talent, which has historically been offered as a perk for RT employees and not an obligation. We are currently unaware of any attempts to negotiate compensation for this work but will continue investigating to ensure there is not an agreement that is outstanding."
For context, one of the allegations against Rooster Teeth was that it "forced THOUSANDS of hours of free labor". It was also alleged that the company has a gender-based wage gap which Skill Tree employee Ellie Main said they flagged. They were allegedly told, "Sometimes you don't get paid what you're worth."
"I am fully aware that I stand in the shoes of past leadership so frequently referenced," Levin continued. "From my position, I can acknowledge the gaps and lack of proper process in handling prior issues, and I am so sorry for the experiences we have learned about that many went through in years past."
Former employee Kdin Jensen also claimed that the nickname "Fugz" used in videos was shortened from a slur, adding, "Every day I came into work I was called 'F*gg*t'."
Rooster Teeth responded, "The statements around not supporting the queer community or our BIPOC employees are untrue as far as [his] understanding goes."
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