Controversial Former Top 'Smash' Player ZeRo Says Lawsuit Is 'Settled,' Wants Back On Twitch
Former top competitive Super Smash Brothers player Gonzalo ZeRo Barrios has launched a campaign to get himself unbanned from Twitch after announcing that the lawsuit he filed against his former roommate Jacqueline "Jisu" Choe has been settled.
In a video posted last Friday to his YouTube channel, ZeRo announced that the accusations Jisu levied at him during the 2020 Smash Community Sexual Misconduct Allegations had been deleted and he was looking forward to making a comeback in the Smash content creation scene.
ZeRo was one of the bigger names involved in the 2020 drama that rocked the competitive Smash scene. He was accused by Jisu of showing her inappropriate sexual images when she was underage. Another woman came forward at the time and stated ZeRo attempted to make sexual advances on her when she was underage.
At the time, ZeRo apologized and called himself a "terrible person" before exiling himself from the Smash scene. His sponsor then dropped him and Twitch banned him from the platform at the time.
However, in 2021, ZeRo returned to YouTube recanting his confession, saying it came amidst a mental breakdown. He said the allegations against him were an attempted assassination of his character and then announced that he had retained legal counsel on how to proceed.
On Friday, ZeRo posted a joint statement from himself and Jisu stating that their differences had been settled and they wanted to put the situation behind them.
However, the gaming community was divided on how to move forward. Supporters of ZeRo believed ZeRo's video meant he was cleared of any wrongdoing and should be allowed back on the platform. Others weren't so sure and did not support his hashtag campaign to return to Twitch.
After 9 long months it's finally over…I'm so proud of your transformation ZeRo and I can't wait to see you back on your grind. #UnbanZeRoTwitch https://t.co/uacIsc6GGn
— Technicals 👾 (@Technicals_) September 9, 2022
smash fans were like: "we're making the community a safe protective place for minors"then proceeds to welcome zero back & give him a platform
— tigerish 🎧 @ finishing xenosaga episode 3 (@tigerishsteam5) September 11, 2022
Isn't this literally what Jisu, smash creators, and the community at large have been saying? Lmfao all this letter states is that yes, zero was in fact being a weirdo while also acknowledging Jisu made an incorrect statement (which she also walked back). Idk man, still not great.
— smashed smasher (@SmashedSmasher) September 9, 2022
It remains to be seen if and how Twitch will respond to ZeRo's campaign to be unbanned.
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Onyxsbayne
Wouldn’t have cared much about it until he posted on Twitter about hosting a tournament featuring banned players and there was nothing anyone could do about it and making a big deal about the whole thing, and that kind of thing is what tells me he’s still not there
Nitpicker
Here's the URL to the document he's talking about. You can put it through the wayback machine to see what it used to be, but all the images and videos are removed. I know it's going directly against his wishes, but I don't want people to be left completely in the dark.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KOQkpIrlplHiEuChxATPOZxvZkZIWpEcQbcQZ3lMb8o/preview?pru=AAABc0M01ww*RRtdnB44WNgx1nn_mDyOFg
I've… Got a lot of mixed feelings about this. Admitting to doing something you didn't do just to escape drama and being falsely accused by a group are both things I've seen before (former in Nario's case [whose account was backed by a lot of other top players], latter in ProJared's [who had evidence which contradicted the accusation's consistency]), but it's difficult to believe when it comes to an accusation like Katie's, especially since she could be staying silent out of fear (and not enough money for a lawyer).
That said, Zero never actually did anything damaging or illegal. That is debatable in Katie's case, but he didn't deserve to get his career ruined over what happened. Really hope he gets his second chance at entertainment.
also it's always funny seeing someone disappear for years and come back ripped
lecorbak
in any cases, even if zero did something wrong, you may consider that he already paid well enough for it.
Nitpicker
Oh of course, I don't think he deserved to be forced out in the first place. Not even his accusers wanted him to stop streaming, they just wanted an apology.
Nedhitis
I am no legal expert. What exactly does it entail if the case was "settled"..? What does that say about the parties involved and their respective cases..?