Ex Tripwire Interactive CEO John Gibson has released his first statement since “stepping down” from the company, following boycotts caused by his anti-abortion comment made earlier in the week.
In his statement, Gibson encourages those “upset about my exit” to “continue your support of Tripwire and their many amazing partners” and wishes “all of these partners [at Tripwire] the best success now and in the future”.
He adds that he has been treated “with great care and dignity” by Tripwire’s executive team, and also notes that “I know what is coming next” from Tripwire, stating “the world will be blown away when it arrives.”
My first statement regarding the events of the past few days. pic.twitter.com/sjyy6d4rDD
— John Gibson (@RammJaeger) September 9, 2021
Gibson was replaced as CEO by then-Vice President Alan Wilson two days ago (September 7), following a statement from Tripwire Interactive announcing he would be stepping down “effective immediately” and sharing the following:
“The comments given by John Gibson are of his own opinion, and do not reflect those of Tripwire Interactive as a company. His comments disregarded the values of our whole team, our partners and much of our broader community.”
Gibson stepped down after posting a tweet supporting a controversial Supreme Court ruling on Texas Law SB8, a highly restrictive abortion law that bans any and all abortion without exemption and allows citizens to sue medical providers violating the ban for a minimum of $10,000 (£7,240) in damages.
Following Gibson’s support of this bill, public figures were quick to distance themselves and speak out against the statement. Shipwright Studios announced that it would be cancelling all contracts with Tripwire “effective immediately” due to Gibson’s tweet, while Twitch streamer Ben ‘CohhCarnage’ Cassell led a boycott against Tripwire from a platform of over 1.4million Twitch subscribers.
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