Once a League of Legends and Super Smash Bros. superstar personality and streamer, Sky Williams is now embroiled in controversy following the release of a damning new report. Williams, best known for his comedic gaming content around two of the most popular games of the early 2010s, was first linked to allegations of grooming, pedophilia, and sexual assault in the Super Smash Bros. community in 2018. Rumblings about his role in instances of sexual assault began earlier but largely came out when victims began speaking out during the summer of 2018. While he was not the perpetrator of the alleged assaults, they all took place in the properties owned by Williams.
Among the allegations that came to light were that several prominent Super Smash Bros. players and commentators, including D’Ron “D1” Maingrette, Richard "Keitaro" King, and Gonzalo “ZeRo” Barrios were accused of sexual assault. Not only did these instances of assault take place in the homes that Sky Williams owned (referred to as "Sky Houses"), but Williams was also named as being complicit in or dismissive of these acts. Several females came forward with detailed accounts of Williams's role in the assault and how the Sky Houses fostered a toxic environment. Several reported blackmail and emotional manipulation, with Sky owing many of them for work he had commissioned. But while those allegations were graphic and horrifying, they pale in comparison to the most recent report.
According to damning new revelations by The Dot Esports, Williams was not only complicit in these instances of sexual assault and abuse, but he had an active part in encouraging the actions. The report details how Williams set up the Sky Houses to entice and attract young, impressionable gamers looking to make a career in the industry. But once inside, according to the article, these individuals were left to be abused, assaulted, and harassed by other housemates, with Williams either ignoring or jokingly encouraging further harassment from the entire household. The report also reveals threatening, misogynistic, and racist behavior from Williams, as well as his mistreatment of those housemates who fell out of his good graces, following an unfortunate trend of sexism in the gaming industry.
On top of that, Williams was in financial trouble throughout this time, according to the report. While some of these financial hardships were detailed in the initial 2020 report, it's now come to light that Williams owed tens of thousands of dollars due to the rent he was spending on these lavish Sky Houses. Among those he owed money to were former League of Legends commentator Nick “LS” De Cesare and former Overwatch commentator Christopher “MonteCristo” Mykles, along with several other housemates. Of course, though, these issues only exacerbated the toxic atmosphere that was already prevalent in the Sky Houses.
These new revelations seal whatever doubt there might have previously been regarding Williams's role in the sexual assault allegations surrounding the Sky Houses and Super Smash Bros. community. No longer simply a bystander who created an environment that allowed rapists, abusers, and pedophiles to go unpunished, it's now clear that Williams actively helped foster and even encourage some of these incidents. Although no criminal action has yet been filed against Williams or the perpetrators, the Sky Houses remain a haunting reminder of the dark side of the gaming industry.
Source: The Dot Esports