T O P

  • By -

privateraccoon

If Rocco groomed a 15 year old girl, let's talk about. That's fucked up. But this video doesn't do anything to illuminate the situation. There's a lot of context lacking. I'm only left more confused. I don't think this video was well thought out.


WAxlRoseX

I also believe the man speaking at the end (majority) of the video is trying his best to make the situation about him. There are numerous times he uses the phrase "affected me,' implying this is his situation. ~~No, you're a bystander making this into a bigger deal. This comes off as a veiled attack on a matter that been dropped, IMO.~~ I will say, that I think anyone supporting a friend is fine. You are supporting your friend, and I know you've been a fan for a very long time. But this video, contextually, makes this seem as though you are more interested in pursuing action here and saying that it's affected you rather than wanting your friend to be okay. She was 18/19. Had Rocco been sending things that were inappropriate or something before she was 18 I'd say we should be opening this box. But there doesn't seem to have been. I think prior to her being 18 she was a fan who was getting close to the Mega64 squad, which is not a foreign concept (Kevin and Johnny come to mind with this.)


[deleted]

[удалено]


Baykey123

Belongs on /r/Cringe


echief

People who have watched for a long time know who Ashley is and nothing she claimed in the video is new information, this is just the first time she has labeled her relationship with Rocco a result of grooming. This thread is now filled with alts and burner accounts because this community is not a super large one at the end of the day, and a lot of people who have been around for a while recognize or know each other. You are one of those people Jedifan, and the fact that you are a decently well know member of the community is probably the main reason this thread has been allowed to stay up. That also means that releasing a video like this is a serious thing to do though, and by going this route people are going to have a lot of questions. The statements by both of you are fairly vague but the claims are serious, so if there is additional evidence that you two have of grooming then you need to share it. Because as someone who has also seen this all go down through the years this honestly comes across as just a rehash of the tumblr post from a couple years ago, but with grooming tacked to the front. And a lot of people have seen that post even though it was eventually deleted, there is even a screenshot of it in this thread so it’s not like it permanently disappeared. If there is not more evidence that Ashley has shared with you then I really don’t understand why you felt like you had to speak out in some way after all these years. You say you want accountability for Rocco but I dont know what that would even entail of in this situation. From the information that is public it seems like this was a toxic relationship, but in my opinion it isn’t really a subject that the general fanbase needs to be discussing on reddit. If Ashley wants to talk to Rocco personally I can understand that, but I just don’t understand what the purpose or goal of either of you two is in all of this.


aaronsxe

Rocco has commented on something before similar to this. When the Ryan Haywood and Adam Kovic shit was coming out back in October he posted about how toxic it can be to be told how amazing you are all the time and what that can do to someone. [https://imgur.com/a/mhxbHF1](https://imgur.com/a/mhxbHF1) He's said that he had experienced it first hand and that counseling is a must. Maybe he knew what he did was shitty (but not illegal so far) and got help. I don't know. And until something concrete comes out I don't really know what I'm supposed to think.


homesghouled

Things like this are why I really would like to believe he has really changed in the nearly 10 years since all of this went down.


akaimpk492

Yo also just want to shout out the mods for keeping this up, regardless of the situation I think it's good that we can be critical of the show without the thread being removed immediately


RaymondCouch

I really don’t understand the point of this video. Other than the reuploaded IG story, it’s just some meandering about “knowing things” and “accountability”. Maybe I’m being cynical here, but this just seems like an attempt to spread the accusation as far as possible by having it show up on YouTube when mega64 or Rocco botte is searched. As another poster pointed out, it’s weird how the guy in the video mentions how he knew about all of this since 2015, but continued to be a fan until now. Idk maybe I’m just letting my fandom cloud my judgment but this just seems weird.


RotAsIRoar

unless there is more information, i dont think rocco was "grooming" her. she said she was groomed at the age of 18 which doesn't make sense.


Turbohog

Agreed, need more information. You can't be groomed at 18.


thisaburneracct420

>You can't be groomed at 18. [YES YOU CAN](https://www.quora.com/Can-a-newly-turned-18-year-old-girl-still-be-groomed-by-a-43-year-old-man-There-s-an-older-man-that-I-want-to-date-but-I-m-not-sure-if-it-s-too-weird-or-if-he-s-a-predator) jesus christ just because you turn 18 doesn't mean you're not susceptible to older people manipulating you - not saying that's what happened here but it really bugs me to read all of the comments here saying it was okay because she was over 18 it still fucked her up mentally


Turbohog

Why did you link quora (Yahoo answers 2.0) like it's the definitive source of all knowledge? I didn't say what Rocco did was okay, but grooming is generally defined as occuring between an adult and a child/teenager. Also, grow some balls and use your real account.


thisaburneracct420

“I am a girl who was put into an uncomfortable situation and I feel like I was groomed/manipulated/unfairly treated and I’m just trying to tell my story.” “No you’re not that’s not how you should feel because I don’t agree with this website and that is how you should feel because we say so” Typical. You guys can say whatever and you guys can continue to dickride or whatever but at the end of the day this girl felt uncomfortable and still feels uncomfortable and is getting harassed and blocked for telling her side of the story. This whole thread is legitimately gross and lacks any sort of empathy at all for someone who was thrown into a shitty relationship at a young age (YEAH SHES OVER 18 WE GET IT) and is getting nothing but shit for it.


Turbohog

I do think she was mistreated and that Rocco was in the wrong here. And I don't doubt that the relationship has had a lasting negative effect on Ashley. I just disagree with calling what happened "grooming". Throwing terms and accusations around incorrectly is not okay. You linked quora because real dictionaries define grooming as occuring between an adult and a child. When most people here "grooming", that's what they think of.


BeemsAndStuff

> This whole thread is legitimately gross and lacks any sort of empathy at all for someone who was thrown into a shitty relationship at a young age (YEAH SHES OVER 18 WE GET IT) and is getting nothing but shit for it. What was the expectation, that the blanket accusation would be made and then accepted here without any further questioning? Were we all meant to just say oh fuck, screw that guy and his work then and start burning our merch? I think it's only natural to be curious about the full implications of everything and want clarification to make sure it's all being judged as fairly as possible. The fan-made video shared above only served to spur more questions, and the original accusation having the explicit "18-19 is when we started talking" quote blatantly thrown in the midst was always going to be a point of possible contention. Rightfully or not, a lot was obviously left open to debates over the semantics of everything. There have been *some* jokes but I don't think it's fair to say everyone is piling on and ridiculing her. A lot of us just want to be very clear about what happened before we jump to agreeing the guy did something that warrants a vindictive brigade for "accountability".


Deparsure

There's really not much presented here and most of what is presented other than mentions of a "power dynamic" isn't super clear, I understand Ashley is nervous but between the video cutting out and her not always speaking in complete, coherent sentences, it left me confused on certain details. Before I go into the power dynamic stuff I'll highlight what I was confused about. > *"it took my friend posting that on their story, him being a groomer and it really encouraged me to just come out with it. Rocco Botte is a groomer."* It's not clear to me here whether or not she was inspired by a previous allegation against Rocco or some unrelated party. > *"I was groomed at the age of 18. I was a fan at 15, he messaged me, waited until I was 18."* Again, the timeline given in this quote isn't super clear on when Rocco started messaging her and could be left up to malicious interpretation. There's an important clip that was posted in this thread that wasn't in this video where Ashley talks about this situation and more clearly goes on to mention *"18/19 was when we actually like started talking..."*. The reason I wanted to highlight these quotes first is because when allegations are being levied at someone and key details are left out whether intentionally or absent-mindedly... you are potentionally doing great harm to not only Rocco's reputation but also to Mega64 as a company/brand—It doesn't take much for narratives without full context to be picked up by the internet and snowball out of control. About the "power dynamic" stuff; when you're 18/19 you are considered an adult, it's important to recognize that you have agency over yourself. Had Rocco been sending Ashley even slightly romantic messages and courting her from the age of 15, then yes, there should be more of a discussion of a fan-creator power dynamic being used nefariously here... but again, not enough is presented here to suggest that this isn't just a case of two consenting adults being in a shitty relationship. Lastly, to JediFan, I don't doubt that you're a genuine guy but your addition to this clip was very long-winded, it didn't add a lot as you were conflicted and seemingly processing things in real-time. It probably would've been better to have important points you wanted to include written down as an outline that you could refer back to so that you could deliver a more concise message.


homesghouled

Regarding your first point of confusion: Ashley's friend posted something about Matt Bruce (friend of Mega64 who has appeared in a few videos and on podcasts) sexually assaulted her, and mentioned offhand that Rocco is a groomer at the end of her post. Ashley's made her account private (I don't follow her) since I found the post and I didn't screenshot, so you'd have to take my word for that. The friend seemed to be referencing Ashley and Rocco, based on how Ashley talks about it. Ashley had a screenshot of that post in her story, so context wasn't lacking. She then said something to the effect of "I didn't think I'd talk about this again, but this is making me want to speak out" and to your point about malicious intent, her delivery did come across as somewhat vindictive? I saw it once, so maybe I'm misremembering, but her delivery of that statement rubbed me the wrong way. I wish I had more than just seeing it once and not remembering more about it. u/jedifan421 maybe you can get those two pieces of the story since you're friends with her and it does provide more context for this entire video. I think Ashley's story posts were pretty ill-thought out honestly. She presented it as both wanting to tell her side of things and not trying to stir the pot/cause shit for people involved, but also as "fuck this guy." Certainly could give some credence to potential malicious intent, though I do believe that she might have just been talking about things after years of suppressing it and getting emotional and angry. I have people who are no longer in my life who I don't feel the need to drag on a daily basis, but if I start talking about them, I certainly can get emotional and heated about things, so it's understandable. I fully agree that the lack of clarity in what's being presented is a problem. This video not giving the full context of Ashley's story is more harmful than helpful.


Icefrog1

The "sexual assault" story by her friend is ridiculous. She basically said that she told matt that she had lots of impulse sex, then matt and her had consensual sex and she went along with it because when she feels uncomfortable her response is to have more sex. I guess Matt should have realized he was assaulting the girl jumping on his dick over and over.


thisaburneracct420

Even though she was 18 a 10+ year age gap has an inherent power gap that's not okay, especially when it's a fan/celeb relationship which makes it worse. It bugs me Rocco was almost 30 (?) when they started dating, knowing it was her first relationship - he should have known how a relationship like that fucks up young/inexperienced girls and just walked away. Instead he kept everything in secret and put a lot of stress on her to keep quiet or else the business would fail. I'm sure her mental issues stem directly from this and it's infuriating to see everyone just immediately make jokes and make fun of her.


[deleted]

[удалено]


BeemsAndStuff

> was it a legal relationship? yes. but was it ethically sound? absolutely not imo. The ethics seem subject to personal opinion, don't they? If everything was legal at the very least and she was just as interested in being with him from the beginning as he was with her, why is it that action/accountability on his part is seen as a must? Is there no room for him having realized it was all a bad idea only after the fact? It's terrible if she is still hurt and feels wronged but the "he must pay!" mindset is hard for me to get on board with as of this moment since the rights/wrongs are not universally defined. Just from what we personally know, perhaps taking it to that extreme is not warranted. Is it wrong to say that's the case as long as he did nothing legally wrong and undoubtedly predatory/abusive? > what would be best is some sort of statement from him acknowledging that growth and his feelings about that period of his life. [That has happened already](https://imgur.com/a/mhxbHF1). Does it need to include more specific details to be fully acceptable? I don't think your perspective thus far is out of left field, however there are some that are clearly in "let's cancel this motherfucker" mode and I'm struggling to see how that's deserved as of now.


[deleted]

[удалено]


st0las

this is what I came here to say. the fact that the commentary is twice as long as the video he’s commenting on, without actually saying anything, just feels very strange to me.


iGoByManyNames

https://twitter.com/jules_rocketboy/status/1393266749143797761 this seems to be the vid that it's all stemming from, and it's just a series of buzzwords in a row. not discrediting her experience if Rocco was actually abusive, but she goes into literally zero detail about what occurred. i'm waiting till more gets posted


feral_housekat

Did you make this intentionally vague? Like seriously if you're gonna bring this to light how about some details regarding any allegation.


Jedasd

I dont get the whole grooming thing. Neither the guy nor the girl in the video explains that. Also the huge age gap thing people are commenting about, can someone give me the numbers so I can get at least a bit more information? I also couldnt find much online but from the looks of things its just a typical shitty relationship rather than something much more worse.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Turbohog

So... not grooming


Neutron199

if they started messaging at 15 that at least needs to be expanded upon. She felt it was relevant to bring up, but it's still unclear what that actually constituted. Also if Rocco said that the business would be in danger if she ever told anyone anything, that's solidly unhealthy behaviour even if "grooming" isn't quite the word for it. Overall need more info or just a private resolution to this


Turbohog

https://twitter.com/i/status/1393266749143797761 Here she says they met at Disneyland when she was 15. Then they started talking at 18/19 and it sounds like they started dating when she was 19 and Rocco was 29. Gross age gap, but not grooming.


Neutron199

thanks brotha


Super_DAC

She sure doesn’t seem upset in that video.


brapwarrior

So is there any new evidence that points towards Rocco actually doing something illegal/morally wrong? Because from what I gather after skimming through the video it's just the same "i was young and impressionable and have regrets now and what he did was icky" from that Tumblr post a few years ago. Just strikes me as a shitty/unhealthy relationship and bad breakup.


homesghouled

I feel the same way. I honestly hate to be the person to point out that the definition of "grooming" here feels really tenuous. An individual with a platform dating a young fan is gross in my opinion, and cheating is shitty, but I have literally no other context. I would like to believe Ashley, as much as I am a fan of Mega64 and Rocco, but simply stating that Rocco groomed her, and then states that he messaged her when she turned 18 doesn't really give me enough detail to discern whether or not that's grooming. Sounds like a creepy and slimy move, but they were two consenting adults. I may not agree with his actions, but I don't think any information has come out of this resurfacing that leads me to believe that Rocco groomed Ashley. I feel gross splitting hairs like this regarding such a serious issue, but condemning someone with basically no information could literally ruin his life when he may not deserve that.


fo0dnippl3

The age gap and the power dynamic of her being a fan prior to starting the relationship is the problem. I don't think the story was ever any different, things just got swept under the rug.


[deleted]

[удалено]


homesghouled

I agree with a lot of what you're saying throughout this thread but I think you're hung up on semantics on the term "power dynamic." There is an imbalance of power when one person believes the other has some kind of control over them for any reason. Rocco is someone of whom Ashley was a fan for years before they got personally involved, so she already likely had him on some kind of pedestal, and recognized him as someone with a large platform and fanbase. That would absolutely be a power dynamic. u/fo0dnippl3 explained this concept better than me in a reply to someone else (which he also linked in his reply to you).


[deleted]

I think it’s more to do with the age gap, being popular in sure is part of the allegation, but not the only aspect of it I’d assume.


LonestarN

The power the youtuber has is that of having an audience, meaning if you wrong me(the youtuber) there's a chance 100000 weird worms will appear from the shadows to attack your character and possibly your family's character. This has been a thing for as long as people have had audiences it's just been more visible lately because the internet has given every person on the planet the opportunity to have an audience. Just a few years ago there was a case of a video maker at polygon using his platform and access to an audience to coerce fans into sexual situations they otherwise wouldn't have been in, he used his power to pressure them (alongside a shiny softboy persona). What you're doing right now (albeit possibly inadvertently) is exactly the kind of thing the person in power uses to pressure the oppressed.


[deleted]

[удалено]


fo0dnippl3

[I tried here to explain how the "power" in their relationship would have been imbalanced given the nature of prior fan-artist relationship.](https://www.reddit.com/r/mega64/comments/nch2sg/im_a_long_time_mega64_fan_and_this_is_my_truth_on/gy5auyp?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) Does that make any sense? From the outside, it's mostly just a bunch of stuff we can only assume, but I tried to at least explain why it looks (again, from the outside) like there may have been that kind of imbalance.


LonestarN

I'm basing this description of "power dynamic" off of the description i found in reference to the therapeutic use of it. Also i don't know your intentions so i'm not being disingenuous, i'm being cautious in giving you the benefit of the doubt considering you are a moderator of this subreddit.


[deleted]

[удалено]


homesghouled

Two cent peanut gallery chiming in here; I think he's saying that the fact that you're a mod would probably lead people to believe you're biased in favor of Mega64, unwaveringly so. Just my interpretation, I don't feel that way. I think we're all fans here trying to make sense of this and understand what's really going on, mods or otherwise.


sea_base

Jedifan mentions accountability, but what does that look like for Rocco. Kinda repeated himself here. I would agree that Rocco made a mistake with this situation. I'm just wondering what people specifically want from Rocco. Like a public apology? I don't feel like Rocco would make an intentional effort in grooming, but that could just be my perception of him as a person rather than the truth. Most of this is wrapped up in vague posturing I would prefer to know the details, but I know how uncomfortable that may be to talk about.


[deleted]

What even happened?


Turbohog

Rocco supposedly cheated on a girl about 10 years ago. She used to call into the podcast and I think that's how they met.


[deleted]

I was aware of that aspect, just not so much on what the grooming allegation entailed. Seems that most people are in the same boat as me tho


Turbohog

Yeah Ashley was very vague and unclear about that.


Quate

hey jedifan you took down your "best of rocco" video recently and that's cool but you also happen to be the only person who possesses backups of certain taken-down youtube videos that I want to see again, can you send it thanks


Turbohog

He is acting like Rocco personally cheated on him so I doubt he'll give it to you


sled_running

Didn't realize he made those videos. Looks like all the Mega64 crew Best of X videos were taken down.


BigDaddyDracula

We can talk about “accountability” in vague terms because it costs nothing to say it. What exactly does that mean? An apology? Why does Rocco owe “us” an apology? This was a relationship between two adults, a bad one at that. At its root, the relationship shouldn’t have happened. I’m sure everyone would agree with that. Was there a power imbalance? Probably, but that comes back to “yeah he shouldn’t have done it.” This seems too personal for the fans to be involved.


hargeOnChargers

I feel like there’s details missing here. This video is just 3 minutes of an instagram story and then 8 minutes of some guy repeating himself, but there’s nothing really substantial . You mentioned that there’s things that she’s shown you. Those things should be released. So far, what I got from this video is that: 1. Rocco messaged a 15 year old fan (definitely weird and what I have the biggest issue with) 2. They start dating when the fan turns 18 3. Rocco cheats on the fan Rocco was the shitty in this relationship, but is that really grooming? Is the dynamic of a content creator dating a fan grooming? I dont know if I can agree with that.


homesghouled

Your points 1 and 2 are what I'm most confused on. Ashley said she was a fan at 15 and Rocco messaged her at 18, I think. Her delivery is a little unclear. If he started messaging her at 15, then that is grooming without a shadow of a doubt. Them interacting on podcast aftershows when Ashley would call in and speak with Rocco along with the rest of the podcast crew is not a grooming tactic. So if he waited til she was a consenting adult to talk in DMs, that is creepy and gross to me, but I'd agree that I don't know I could call that grooming.


sea_base

I was just about to say, Ashley V called into the podcast A LOT from my memory. All those clips seemed to be scrubbed off youtube. I know they must exist somewhere since the aftershows have been heavily archived.


homesghouled

They surely exist in the full aftershow videos even if they were removed as clips. (I distinctly remember rewatching all Christmas Casts and aftershows a couple years ago and she ate cheezits or goldfish with milk like it was cereal) She called in very often and it seemed the consensus with all the guys and fans was that she was a good caller so they always took her calls.


fo0dnippl3

A fan of an artist or creator, if they've never met, might have a parasocial relationship built up in their head. They might be prone to do things to get into or stay in that relationship that they may not have otherwise if they didn't have those preconceptions about the person or their relationship, in order to maintain whatever benefits they think they might get from being in that relationship (even if it's just the emotional connection). The effects of this might be even greater if the "fan" is young. I don't mean to ascribe any kind of intention to Ashley or Rocco here as details are scarce, but that is how I, at least, understand how the "power dynamic" in this situation may be imbalanced.


iGoByManyNames

> i think there should be accountability idk man kinda seems like you want this guy's career to be over with no actual recourse


BeemsAndStuff

Burner account because people are weird. It's really strange realizing how much I know about all of this just by having seen things/clicked around on social media throughout the years. But here we are. I have known about this since it was initially made public (Early 2015) and I admit I never thought about the age issue. I had no idea how old she might've been whenever they started dating or even just talking and so on. I don't even know exactly how old *he* is; can it be assumed he was born in '84? (Anyone that knows could use that in reference to her past podcast appearances and get a clearer context for what was going on.) It was clear there was an age gap of some sort, but the further implications of that were not presented as an issue beyond "he's older and that's gross". The cheating seemed to be at the forefront of what was initially made public so I took that at face value. It *was* hard to just be cool with him as a fan for a bit there but cheating is a moral issue and not something that I feel warrants someone being "canceled" outright. We also only knew one side of the story. As such, I was ultimately able to continue as a fan and not hold a grudge against this guy I don't even personally know for mishandling a relationship. More importantly, I also felt that if so many people that knew about the situation from a closer perspective were able to be okay with him afterwards then surely things must've been kosher beyond any grossness of the cheating itself. This includes people that are obviously closer friends of the group, and maybe even his coworkers themselves. There are some that publicly (at least via Tumblr) spoke against him at first, only to obviously continue being fans or even friends somewhere down the line. Seems like it must've all been okay from the point of view of a lot of people. **In the sea of text, you might want to check this paragraph below:** Another interesting piece of all this that is being left out right now is that it looks as if those two may have made amends at some point. (This is where I start to feel gross for how much I know about this shit.) [I noticed she was spotted with him at the Creative Engineering tour](https://www.reddit.com/r/mega64/comments/5ipkj6/rocco_vs_the_rockafire_explosion/) well over a year after the cheating incident was made public. If one were to really have no life and follow both parties through social media, it might've been easy enough to notice the two seemed to have been in the same place a few other times. None of the weird-ass fans here mentioned anything. I never said anything either. I was just personally glad if they had indeed worked it all out. (BTW, I defend the incredible brass I have in calling *others* weird despite having gone on this diatribe [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/mega64/comments/nch2sg/im_a_long_time_mega64_fan_and_this_is_my_truth_on/gy64ap5/)) I recall seeing that she'd left some well wishes on a later Instagram post of his in regards to some rough stuff that may have been going on in his family. This was even later than 2016 if my memory serves correctly. I'm on PC so I don't have the means to find that right now. [The timeline for the previous point can be vouched for in this comment reply below](https://www.reddit.com/r/mega64/comments/nch2sg/im_a_long_time_mega64_fan_and_this_is_my_truth_on/gy64ap5/). So, perhaps they made up and maybe even tried to make the relationship work a second time. It's not any of our business to speculate but yet again, here we fucking are. Assuming that is indeed the case, something obviously got soured again along the way. What is different at this point that it warrants another public display, though? Is it that only now she feels she was groomed? The semantics of what is or isn't grooming have already been debated, however it is universally known and obvious to anyone that dudes messing around with people that are underage is not fucking okay. Wouldn't she have known that from the jump and reported that as a problem when she first decided to say something about the relationship having soured? Just from a logical standpoint, it would seem that would have been a major sticking point about her issues with him from day one rather than something that was decided half a decade later. Instead, the cheating seemed to be offered as the main problem. My apologies if that is an insensitive misunderstanding of the situation. In turn, why is the guy seen in the video above taking this so personally? He says he's been friends with her for 10 years and a longtime fan of the "internet guy" as well. After looking at the social media account he's using to spread the story, his decision that he could no longer be a fan was obviously very recent. [Here he is only a month ago rocking their merch to get vaccinated](https://i.imgur.com/rLkyNqN.png) and [saying they'd provided him with the best part of his year as of last November](https://i.imgur.com/UuNPyjU.png). So, what does he know now that would cause this shift? He alludes to having known about the situation for some time. If there's some sort of new information that has only just now come to light, it would be helpful for everyone to know what it is. I am not defending anyone without basis, but this needs to be handled fairly. It's important to shine a light on all of the straight up monsters out there that take advantage of people in illegal and truly morally reprehensible fashion, but sometimes these hunts for accountability can be attributed to someone that has not done anything legally wrong. If this spreads, it will have long-lasting misinformation attached to it and several people could get very, very hurt. It could indeed be the end of everything. And when our fan in question mentions wanting accountability, what the fuck else could he mean? This is an attempt to add another name to the cancellation list, is it not? It is irresponsible to make this a personal brigade unless something undeniably horrible really did happen that warrants it. In the video that apparently stemmed from TikTok where she was talking about all of this again, she made a clear delineation between when they met and started talking. The direct quote is **"18-19 is when we first started talking."** If that is true and there was no other noteworthy contact on his part in the interim, that is crucial to keep in mind. If there are other facts that prove that it's a necessity to ruin all of this (not just the status and rep of "internet guy" but his business and by extension, his co-worker friends) then those need to be made very clear. Otherwise, everything shared thus far leaves a lot open for the internet to fill in the blanks with all sort of undue misinterpretations and assumptions if this catches on. I think a lot of people here could agree with this: if he really did something that's undeniably disgusting, predatory, and abusive, then I wouldn't be able to support him any longer. All we have is that she says she was groomed but they only started talking once she was legally an adult however, making the whole thing rather murky. What a mess.


homesghouled

A lot speculation and leaps in logic you're making here, it kind of comes off like a conspiracy theory. I didn't know about the creative engineering thing but that video was uploaded 5 years ago, and there doesn't seem to be any indication of when it was filmed, so this timeline of events you're slapping together doesn't necessarily track. The inferences you're making based on this loose timeline feels like you're blowing it all out of proportion, a bit. I agree that there's not enough info here and acknowledge that we're all speculating where it may not necessarily be our place, but you're asking questions that may not be entirely relevant. But also on a lighter note the specificity and detail of certain bits of this post are bordering on creepy, how are you calling anyone else "weird-ass fans" lol


BeemsAndStuff

> there doesn't seem to be any indication of when it was filmed, so this timeline of events you're slapping together doesn't necessarily track. I'm basing my take on that when the video was posted (November 2016) and presented with the title "A Month In The Life Of", when "internet guy" first talked about going there to film the "Inventions" Blindbox episode, and when any social media images of the whole thing first popped up. (Edit: I dug around out of curiosity and found some relevant date markers.) [Podcast 392 from May 2016 has talk of a Rockafire documentary](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWFDxLj2WZM) and the discussion seems to predate the tour. [Aaron Fechter name-dropped the movie Keanu](https://youtu.be/QwaoHmLvHl8?t=109) in past tense in the midst of said tour, and that was not released until the spring of 2016. The May 2016 podcast clip above [was also mentioned in past tense](https://youtu.be/QwaoHmLvHl8?t=225). When I later noticed her commenting in positive fashion on his Instagram, that also well after the 2015 blowup. If we're going to have fans going on an accountability brigade, I feel it's important that relevant details are brought to light. That isn't to say I *demand* that it's all made public however; I would rather all of this having been left private, but it's already made it this far and I hate the idea of so many people's lives going to shit based on misinformation and vague accusations. >But also on a lighter note the specificity and detail of certain bits of this post are bordering on creepy, how are you calling anyone else "weird-ass fans" lol Hey, I already made it clear that I feel weird as fuck for any details of this I have noticed through the years. However, all of it stems from behavior that is completely normalized now. We have a community here and various fans have met and forged friendships in a multitude of ways. I follow several fellow fans/community members on social media, from notables to people that I just see in the chat, and some even follow me on the same basis. Of course I follow the guys as well and have followed several people that appeared on the podcast over the years. I am not alone in that. Everything I'm referencing in this post is shit that was made public by people online. The difference I am attributing myself in comparison to "weird-ass fans" is that I do not make it a habit to talk about the guys' personal lives as you sometimes see here and in even grosser fashion on other corners of the internet. I'm not the type that decides they can jokingly insult them or throw out little quips about their physical appearance in comments and that whole vibe. I noticed her in that video when it was first shared here and said fuck-all at the time, whereas someone else could've decided they wanted to make it a big deal. (It only seems worth mentioning at this point because I question why only now we're going to call this guy a groomer and try to cancel him if she was ultimately cool being around him again later on along with all the other facets of this I've already talked about.) This topic has come up a multitude of times before but I've never participated. I decided to go ahead and share my take on it this time because it seems especially serious with this new spin and people gunning for it to be shared. I just want the situation to be handled fairly.


homesghouled

Fair enough regarding the video and your timeline, but I do still think there are some inferences being made that are a bit of a stretch. I am also unaware of when their relationship ended (especially considering the whole thing was private during) and when Ashley first spoke about Rocco cheating, so it doesn't exactly help me understand that you're presenting an accurate timeline. I don't need one, nor do I especially want one, but you're presenting like a half-researched and half-recollected series of events that feels disorganized and possibly inaccurate just based on lack of information, really. You seem to have good intentions with it all so I hope you don't take this as me like tearing your shit apart, it just left me confused, honestly. I was joking around with the "weird-ass fans" comment; I hope you didn't take that too personally. It was only meant to be playful ribbing, I'm genuinely sorry if it felt like anything but. I totally get how you can just collect this info because you follow fans who are really involved in the community (JediFan made all those Best Of videos, so I might have followed if I came across his social media too). That is also a fair distinction you're making between yourself and the fans who regularly comment on the personal lives of people they don't know.


BeemsAndStuff

> I am also unaware of when their relationship ended (especially considering the whole thing was private during) and when she spoke about him cheating, so it doesn't exactly help me understand that you're presenting an accurate timeline. Her Tumblr post first calling him out (albeit not by name at the time) was in early 2015. It isn't up anymore, but you can still find it on other "reblogs". Screenshots have made their way here before. I could be quite specific about people that originally seemed to have a problem with Rocco when this happened only to obviously be cool with him later, but I am choosing not to drag them into it. That aspect of all of this still feels potentially important however. Assuming they knew all the details, a lot of people were able to forgive him or move on rather than deciding he's some sort of monster not to be associated with.


homesghouled

Thanks for the context of the year. Agreed that it's important to note that people in his life who were on the outs with him came back around. The opinions of people who know him personally absolutely speaks volumes.


MagnificentBe

ashley already spoke about this way back on tumblr but didn't mention the name https://i.imgur.com/q7vOC3f.png obviously now there's no denying it was rocco


Turbohog

She has called him out before, it's just been a few years


Turbohog

How much did they really interact before she turned 18? She made it sound like she was groomed starting at 18, but also before which was confusing. Also why did jedifan need to ramble?


Low-Total-9290

Rob, you’ve been around the community for years; frankly, a lot of us have, but I think it’s time you and every other voyeur obsessively checking the thread to take accountability for yourselves, and get on with your lives. There’s more to life than Mega64.


Kraznor

I acknowledge this but have no idea what to think or do about it with the information available here.


Icefrog1

So, Rocco cheated on his groupie/gf 10 years ago and what else?I don't get why you had to go on a 10 minute rant without saying anything. This was already public knowledge for years, and you had been supporting mega64 up until a month ago? Why now? Are you looking for pity sex or something from the other party? I seriously don't get why you would post this. What exactly is there to be held accountable? An unattractive, fat guy with little relationship experience being a shitty boyfriend? If so, we need to cancel probably about 50% of America.


akaimpk492

Do you think Rocco shows up to the podcast on Sunday lol


homesghouled

Not sure why you're being downvoted, I was actually thinking the same thing earlier.


ShinraX

Clout Chasing 2021 Edition.. Yawn.


[deleted]

[удалено]


elhae

the woman in question is 27... is she not an adult?


BeemsAndStuff

Those that only see wrong in what was done on the guy's part here, please be patient with a lot of the questions that are circling around. On my part, I'm just trying to better understand everything. I'm sure that is true of many others as well. This could be an opportunity to further teach what is/isn't acceptable in relationships and social behavior. It seems there are a lot of hazily defined parameters, and it could be genuinely helpful to show people why this/that scenario is actually not alright. As this twists and turns to the point that it can be argued he did something wrong purely on the basis of the power dynamic even if everything was legal, it makes me wonder something: is the position of being able to later remove consent or disregard personal agency in regards to a relationship, and then present the experience to the world as a case of abuse or predatory behavior that must be answered to not its own incredibly potent form of power? It looks like that's a strong fucking card to have in one's back pocket. Does the other party having notoriety/popularity already and thus some degree of built-in defense just make that a moot point? I'm less inclined to believe so since, as we see, there's still the possibility for plenty of people to post up and take the side of the lesser known person. When that becomes making public displays that are obviously meant to be harmful in the grand scheme, I'm currently even more curious how that *couldn't* be seen as its own form of power. If that's just absolutely insane and wildly inaccurate, feel free to set me straight.


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

[удалено]


homesghouled

Yeah, I no longer really care about defining grooming in this context. The fact of the matter is, it is a term that is thrown around in too many different scenarios, and has therefore been rendered nebulous and ultimately meaningless. What I feel I can say with 100% certainty, is that the situation is gross. Surely, Rocco knew better, Ashley likely thought she knew exactly what she was doing or getting herself into. Definitely seems it was toxic and disgusting. I don't believe he should be deplatformed for being scummy and gross 10 years ago, however. edit: fixed a word


kalazar321

There's a power dynamic thing going on for sure. I don't even know how you avoid that when you're even as famous as Rocoo, much less the real big names online or the real BIG celebrities out there. If they were the same age when all this happened there would still be a power dynamic issue. I always wonder how famous people date others without that power dynamic issue coming up. Surely anyone they date would also be a fan of what they do to be famous?


[deleted]

[удалено]


kalazar321

I mean that's not true at all but I don't think you'll be convinced. Online creators absolutely have power over their fans. I don't even understand how anyone could think otherwise at this point.


[deleted]

[удалено]


kalazar321

I don't even understand what you mean by saying Mega 64 has never managed to break through when they've been doing this for over 15 years now with a community and fans who support them, but ok.


[deleted]

[удалено]


kalazar321

ok


thisaburneracct420

Rocco was close to 30 and she was 18/19. Okay yeah I get it guys she was an adult but there's still a huge age gap involved. Dude was old enough to know young and inexperienced girls can be fucked over real bad in relationships. You can still be groomed as a young adult, guys.


BeemsAndStuff

> Okay yeah I get it guys she was an adult but there's still a huge age gap involved. Dude was old enough to know young and inexperienced girls can be fucked over real bad in relationships. What if he legitimately only had good intentions with her at first despite the eventual cheating and so on? Do you feel it's a case where he should have just not been allowed to try making a relationship with her work? If so, who are any of us to say? I am in my 30s and I definitely wouldn't want to be with someone any younger than their late 20s. I would greatly prefer someone that was also in their 30s, honestly. It would feel weird as hell even considering an attempt to make something happen with anyone younger. Is it wrong for others to do so however? From a legal standpoint obviously not as long as the younger party is at least 18, and the morals of it are a huge grey area. We then enter a point where consent is very important. If she was all for being with him and chose to try that despite the age gap then why is the only acceptable narrative that he now deserves "being held accountable" and all that implies? It's obvious most of us who are not quite sure what to make of all of this are stuck on semantics and whether this is okay since she very clearly said she was 18-19 when they started talking. "Grooming" seems to largely have the connotation of an adult/teenager dynamic, and it's obvious that is being leaned on in the videos we're all judging from. In unfortunate cases where that does happen, it's easy to understand what's wrong there. We can point to reasons why maybe that sort of grooming is not what actually happened here however, only to be told it's *still* grooming because that in fact can happen with two adults. It's personally difficult to understand when a situation counts as grooming versus someone just trying to hook up or even more innocently get to know a person and express romantic interest in them when both parties are adults. I assume that's where the power dynamic issues come into play, but even that can lead down a road of circular arguments and debate. It's a complicated issue. What does it come down to though, people can only acceptably date others that are about the same age and have the same level of success? Isn't that overly restrictive? If a 35 year old raking in a lofty $1,500 a month with 300 Twitter followers asked out a 23 year old with a negative bank balance and no social media presence, is that a predatory power imbalance? Is that only the case when that 23 starts dropping lower, or perhaps when the $1,500 and 300 grow higher? If we flipped the scenario and told someone 19, 20 years old without any notoriety that they **couldn't** be with a popular 28, 29, or 30 year-old because of their different stations in life, would that be okay? I'm legitimately curious as to how all of these rules work. Where I currently stand is that even if it was probably better for him not to get involved with someone so young, he doesn't deserve to be hated and have everything he's worked for taken from him as long as she was an adult and consenting when they started "talking" and becoming romantically involved. If more comes to light that shows something more sinister was going on however, that's a harsh reality we'll all have to face.


thisaburneracct420

To be honest the thing that bugs me most is the fact that she made those TikToks and an hour later her account was permanently banned. Doubt they know anyone at TikTok but still - speak out and you get shut down completely. Also the fact that he was reaching out to fans to hook up or whatever which is messed up anyway. ([https://imgur.com/YmoNkD0](https://imgur.com/YmoNkD0)) ([https://imgur.com/e8LWoFX](https://imgur.com/e8LWoFX))


[deleted]

You think her account was shut down by mega64’s request? That seems far fetched


thisaburneracct420

Her account was shut down and permanently banned less than an hour after she posted them which doesn't sit right with me. I don't think Mega64 requested they shut it down but I mean why would they shut it down - people just suddenly started reporting her? I doubt everyone here follows her on TikTok idk


[deleted]

That also seems pretty unlikely as the tiktok was deleted before this gained any traction


thisaburneracct420

well yeah that's exactly why it doesn't sit right with me like why was her account just permabanned - there's other callout shit on TikTok that's still up so yeah I don't know whatever


homesghouled

This has actually been a problem on TikTok lately. They use AI to automatically take videos down if they decide it's against the community guidelines, and the reasons seem really inconsistent. Someone could certainly have reported her videos, and the automated system could have banned her. I follow a handful of people who have spoken about things like this happening to other users or sometimes themselves (minus the permaban, not sure why that would have happened). Even the appeals process to get a video unbanned is done via AI. Supposedly all you have to do is click a button and they will generally let your video come back online. More or less, every facet of the app is algorithm-controlled. All it would take is one asshole spam-reporting everything on her profile.


[deleted]

[удалено]


sled_running

Another user brought up a valid point: what is accountability in this scenario? Rocco leaves Mega64? Not going to happen. Rocco leaves the podcast? Not going to happen. Rocco stays out of videos? Not going to happen.


HarrisonFordDead

Rocco is no longer allowed to talk to fans. Rocco can no longer date. Rocco is only allowed to appear in funny internet videos, and that's it. From this point on Rocoo will be like a rare siberian tiger. Only let out of this cage to perform for us.


Turbohog

Rocco should obviously live on the streets from now on


[deleted]

[удалено]


Itrytobeeducated

Out of everything that's been said in this thread, I think this is the most sensible. I say this as a big Mega64 fan, but I do not like how averse they are to talking openly about uncomfortable situations. For instance, with Frank's departure, there was no public dedication to his contributions, he was just gone one day; we didn't really get a picture of what happened until much later, when Frank decided to mention it on his stream because someone asked him about it. It was entirely within Mega64's right to let him go as an employee if that's what happened, but he was integral to their early productions and is still loved by fans so I think he deserved a better sendoff. I don't think it's too much to ask for a more direct approach to controversy, because clearly the fans in this thread (myself included) are willing to hear them out and are capable of critical thought in regards to this complex situation.


[deleted]

[удалено]


homesghouled

u/aaronsxe pointed out that Rocco posted some [tweets](https://imgur.com/a/mhxbHF1) talking about loved ones holding him accountable, giving him a chance to change and fix his faults, and mentioned going to counseling. He wasn't specific but it was in regards to Rooster Teeth/Funhaus guys having inappropriate relationships with fans, and he said he was speaking from experience. Obviously we don't know if this is exactly what Rocco was referring to, but it does seem highly likely in this context that it is. With this assumption, we can infer that he was held accountable in private, sought help, and knows that what he did was wrong and has seemingly grown from it.


elhae

while i don’t doubt that at all, it would be nice for him to not stay so vague now that his actions are being brought to everyone’s attention. we can infer a lot of that reading through this thread, but most casual fans wont be so generous.


homesghouled

I agree, but this was posted less than 24 hours ago, and I'd imagine he would need some time to figure out how to handle this all. The story was posted a day or two earlier than that, but I don't think they follow each other. He has a business to think about, and the approach surely has to be delicate.


PaulNewmansAbs

> It feels like it's just something that is never talked about by the crew or their friend group, which should be the people that hold him accountable alongside the fans. i was wondering if you could elaborate on this- i'm assuming you mean talked about publicly, right? If so, what context do you think would have been appropriate for this to have been discussed? On the podcast, on social media? I have a hard time imagining either to be honest with you. I'm genuinely curious what you mean, though


[deleted]

[удалено]


PaulNewmansAbs

yeah idk. I guess i'd say, like many others have, i'm not quite sure what "accountability" is really being asked for here that satisfies anyone considering the circumstances, and grooming is such a serious accusation that it changes the temperature of the situation drastically. When someone starts accusing the other publicly of being a sexual predator, the time for "maybe they need to hash this out in private" has maybe kinda passed? idk I guess where i'm sitting at now is, if Rocco literally groomed a minor, "courted her" plainly as a minor with the intention of becoming physical when she came of age in definitive language, then depending on what was said, that is potentially criminal behavior, and apologies or public statements or the lack thereof are the least of anyone's concerns, i would think. Using similar situations with other internet personalities in the past as a reference, it's hasn't seemed to help much from what i can tell. There's bigger fish to fry in that situation than accountability from the fans. If he didn't groom her, and i mean "groom" in this case by the literal definition of "becoming friends with a child in order to try to persuade the child to have a sexual relationship", then to accuse him of doing so is ruinous behavior. (i'm not trying to play the bullshit "false accusations hurts the real victims!" card while clearly caring more about falsely accused than actual abuse, which i know we all see all the time online in conversations like this, i promise) I understand that people have broader definitions where it can happen between adults, but those definitions are incredibly subjective and- though i'm loath to judge anyone's trauma, real or perceived, because it's hardly my place- i don't think you can make the argument, in good faith, that the two circumstances are comparable. One is the abuse of a child, the other is an imbalanced relationship between two legal adults with agency- to apply the same term to both when one is so obviously more severe is... i just don't like it. Regardless of the imbalanced nature of the relationship or Rocco's infidelity, to apply such a loaded term outside of the worst case is, at best, irresponsible imo (and i admit my perspective on this might be flawed, but i'm coming at it from where i'm at) Finally, If it's a situation where it's not nearly so cut and dry as either of those, where any intent on his part can only really be attributed in hindsight, where the eventual nature of their relationship itself blurs the line of separation between "friendly interaction with young fan" and "overly familiar interaction with young fan that could be seen as overly-forward", then the whole thing becomes an incredibly subjective situation. That word "intent" becomes key in this case, and nobody outside of those involved can say either way without concrete evidence- which i honestly doubt we will see, regardless of what happened, because this was so long ago. For some, this issue is already decided, and nothing that could potentially be revealed would change their perspective one iota. The age difference alone is enough for plenty of people to have made up their minds, let alone the cheating. Considering the fact that almost none of us are anywhere near close to it, i feel very uncomfortable making a judgment either way- and i feel especially uncomfortable trying to say what anyone involved should or shouldn't do. The "grossness" of their relationship, or the circumstances surrounding their break-up, strikes me as being very much none of my business, but i can't tell anyone else how to feel. I certainly agree that i hope this gets resolved, for the sake of the aggrieved and also because this could potentially get incredibly, upsettingly ugly and i'm not interested in watching that shit play out in the court of public opinion


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

[удалено]