“Borderlands'” Claptrap voice actor David Eddings says Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford physically assaulted him in 2017, he explained in a series of tweets on Monday.
Gearbox is the developer behind the “Borderlands” series, including the upcoming “Borderlands 3.”
Eddings is in an ongoing dispute with Pitchford, which seems to have stemmed from tensions around the voice actor’s payment for his performance in “Borderlands” and “Borderlands 2.”
“Randy physically assaulted me in the lobby of the Marriott Marquis at GDC 2017,” Eddings wrote in a tweet on Monday, a follow-up to his explanation of the payment dilemma he says he faced when asked to reprise his role as Claptrap.
Gearbox sent a response to PCGamer:
“Gearbox takes any and all claims of this nature very seriously and we will abstain from commenting on the allegations Dave is making because it is a personnel matter. We appreciate David’s contributions to the Borderlands franchise and have continued to assert we would welcome him back into the mix as the voice of Claptrap and other future opportunities.”
Further, Eddings accused Pitchford of siphoning $12 million from Gearbox funds meant for employee royalties for a personal bonus, which Pitchford was previously accused of in a lawsuit and the CEO denied back in January. Gearbox did not comment on this accusation, as it is an “ongoing investigation.”
I was fine moving on after Gearbox. But when my former boss starts mouthing off about various aspects of my employment including “how highly compensated” I was and how “generous” he is, I feel obligated to correct the record.
— David Eddings (@davideddings) May 7, 2019
The assault accusation came after explanations of why the actor is no longer working with Gearbox. The actor wrote that he would not be reprising his role as Claptrap in “Borderlands 3” on Wednesday in a tweet because he asked for payment of royalties, and then asked for an apology for the assault.
“For the first time, I insisted on getting paid for my performance and all of a sudden they couldn’t afford me,” Eddings wrote on May 1.
In response, Pitchford insisted that Eddings was paid “handsomely.”
“Mr. Eddings was paid very handsomely during his employment,” Pitchford wrote on May 3. “After his employment, he was made a relatively generous offer to reprise the role. Unfortunately, he turned that opportunity down.”
