Former Claptrap Voice Actor Details Randy's Bad Attitude

Last time we checked in on the Borderlands 3 voice actor controversy, we discussed how Claptrap’s voice actor was allegedly never paid and claimed that Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford assaulted him in a hotel lobby during the 2017 GDC. Because even something as simple as replacing a voice actor goes in crazy and unwelcome directions when Randy Pitchford gets involved.

Anyway, these were some serious claims, but they also came without much of a story or a background: but in an interview with Newsweek, the man in question, David Eddings, went into more detail about his firing from the company and the alleged attack, as well as some information about the kind of guy ol’ Randy P actually is.

And the name of the article, by the way, is “‘Borderlands’ Voice Actor Says Gearbox CEO Is a Bully Who Harassed, Shoved and Humiliated Him”. So that’s pretty telling.

The example of bullying, for example, comes from an event in February 2017 where David Eddings was in a meeting with 2K Games president Christoph Hartmann, and the following happened:
 

“Randy had gone into the booth, yanked my cans off and stuck a wet finger in my ear that he had licked… He jumped back and he cackled at me. Christoph and I are looking at each other like, what just happened?"

Which is pretty messed up. But it gets worse when he describes the altercation that happened at the GDC that same year.

Here’s the long and the short of it: Eddings claimed that two people approached him saying some guy named Greg Richardson was trying to figure out how much Gearbox was being sold for. He said he didn’t know, and the guy who gave him this information asked to remain anonymous. But all the same, Eddings went to tell Randy Pitchford that some people seem to think Gearbox is for sale, and Randy P. responded with “bulls**t, who told you?”. Edding refused to disclose that information, and so Randy Pitchford pushed him, apparently very hard.

The article itself is definitely worth a read, as it also includes texts that were sent back and forth between the two men before he was suddenly fired. He also claims there were witnesses who can back up his claims, giving them some extra credibility.

Either way, he believes that Randy P. might have actually been trying to sell Gearbox, and was caught in the act.

The biggest news to come out of this, however, is that for once Randy P. has shut up over Twitter, and hasn’t commented on any of these allegations. However, Gearbox itself has said the following:

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 think it’s a shame that the 400+ employees here who have poured the love and passion into Borderlands 3 are having their work be diluted by personal allegations.

Yeah, Gearbox. It is a shame. But considering all the “personal allegations” floating around and their one common source, maybe you need to think about the real source of the shame here.