Editor's Update: May 2023. In December of 2022, Mann published a new essay on Medium in which she retracted her accusations of non-consensual sexual contact, physical abuse, and other bad behavior by Honeycutt, and apologized for making them.
In response, Pandasaurus Games said it had no current work pending with Honeycutt and would not work with him in the future. Honeycutt was credited on Pandasaurus’s Machi Koro Legacy with Rob Daviau (see "’Machi Koro Legacy’").
Here’s more of the company’s statement, via Twitter:
"Pandasaurus Games was troubled and saddened by the news that we read today. Pandasaurus Games makes board games to bring people together. Pandasaurus Games believes that games should be a fun, inclusive environment where everyone is welcome at the table from all walks of life.
"The news that we read today is troubling on both a personal and professional level to all of us at Pandasaurus Games. This is not our story to tell, and we will leave that to the victim to speak for herself.
"Pandasaurus Games has in place policies supportive of safe environments for all our employees and contractors. The contractor in question is not an employee of Pandasaurus Games and has never worked with us in any capacity other than as a freelance game designer.
"We do not have any games currently in development with the designer and will not work with him on future projects.
"We will be donating to RAINN (The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network) and setting up ongoing donations and encourage others to do the same.”
Restoration Games, which had Honeycutt on staff for around two years (see "Restoration Games Expands Staff"), reacted similarly, noting that there was no ongoing work with the designer and they would not work with him in the future.
"Today, we were made aware of accusations made against JR Honeycutt," the company said on Twitter. "We previously worked with him on a contract basis. This work ended approximately six months ago. Although JR contributed to some current and future releases in our line, he does not receive any royalties or other compensation. We will not work with him in the future. We unequivocally support and stand by victims of abuse."
Honeycutt was credited on recently released Unmatched games, on which Restoration collaborated with Mondo Games (see "Mondo and Restoration Games Reveal New ‘Unmatched’ Games").
Mondo also released a statement on Twitter: "As a friend and partner of Restoration Games we stand by this statement and echo their support."
Other repercussions were also immediate. Board Game Geek revoked his badge for BGG.Con, which will be held later this week, and removed him from the Tabletop Network event that began Monday, the company said on Twitter.
The time between the publication of the essay and the response of the four companies was under 24 hours.
Honeycutt did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication. Update: Honeycutt has declined comment, ed.
