Dota caster TobiWan responds to accusations of sexual assault

Dota 2 caster Toby ‘TobiWan’ Dawson has responded to accusations of sexual assault by outlining his accounts of separate events involving multiple women, who are, in turn, disputing his claims.

The 34-year-old included three separate interactions with different people, keeping two anonymous while naming the third as an artist who goes by Botjira. One of the unnamed, cosplayer ‘Meruna,’ came forward after TobiWan’s initial response to the allegations.

“I know I have made many mistakes in the past and repeated today by not addressing the real issues at hand & trying to move on as a lesson learned,” he said in his TwitLonger. “So the actions I have taken are for all to see, I do not want to be accused of things I have not committed.”

In providing context to the allegations against him, he described an encounter with ‘Person A,’ detailing that a consensual relation had run its course until it had a bitter end sometime later. He was apologetic that this person “had to endure the pressure of unwanted advances” during their time.

He also expressed surprise at Botjira’s claims and was adamant that “at no point did [he] pin her down or stop her from leaving.” Then he insisted that his relations with ‘Person B’ were also consensual.

Following his first post, Meruna then revealed herself as ‘Person A’ in her own response titled ‘TobiWan did not take No for an answer’ and denied that she was ever in a relationship with the caster.

Meruna had previously revealed that she had a story too, but wasn’t willing to go into detail, at first. However, after TobiWan’s since-deleted initial response, she said that she “[believed] the story must be told after all.”

https://twitter.com/Meruna_/status/1276193969106534400

“Since you are so good at keeping me anonymous: we were never in a relationship,” Meruna responded shortly after the caster published his second apology.

“I also never consented to being stealthed… And lastly: Good job at completely ignoring the part where you started sexual activities even though I had told you I didn’t want to, not on the first night.”

Meruna does not believe TobiWan is being honest in his recount: “What happened to apologetic Toby from earlier? He was at least pretending to be sorry. You are looking to blame and twist events.”

https://twitter.com/Meruna_/status/1276195535536500738

Concluding his address to the allegations, he brought up a situation where he was “completely insensitive to a transphobic comment” made by professional Dota 2 player Michael ‘ixmike88’ Ghannam.

Furthermore, he apologized for his actions during the 2012 Starladder event of an all-female DOTA final, where he “made many sexist comments that mocked the players.”

Since these allegations have come to light, esports talent agency Code Red Esports announced that they would no longer be representing TobiWan. Co-founder of Beyond The Summit, David ‘LD’ Gorman, also said they believe the allegations against the caster and will no longer be working with him.

According to esports insider, Rod ‘Slasher’ Breslau, Valve also removed TobiWan’s voice lines from the Dota2 The International 10 Battle Pass.

TobiWan was one of the most familiar voices in the Dota competitive landscape. He has worked at every TI since its creation in 2011, as well as numerous Tier 1 events. Lauded as ‘the voice of Dota 2,’ he has received numerous accolades for his broadcasting.

The allegations against TobiWan come at the heels of numerous survivors in the industry sharing their stories against creators, streamers, and prominent gaming figures like Syndicate, SayNoToRage, Mini Ladd, THINND, and more.