The Open Comms Show show took the New Year’s slot this year for The Mittani Media, broadcasting for six hours to usher in the midnight hour for the US timezones. Hosts (and corpmates) BigCountry (BC), Dirk MacGirk, and Dreydan Trovirr were joined by guest Chocolate Rahne on camera. The group was joined by notable players off-camera, including Rixx Javix, Elise Randolph, Jeff Raider, Grath Telkin, Scooter McCabe, Dabigredboat, Xenuria, and others.
The festive talk show featured drinking, discussions, and online ISK giveaways through games. Unfortunately, halfway through the broadcast, long time co-host Dirk lost his temper with the host and producer BC, resulting in personal attacks on-air. Dirk departed, and the show continued to the end without him. The portion of the show with the outburst was pulled by TheMittani Media.
Unprompted, Dirk approached TMC early this morning to have the following apology published on his behalf:
It is with regret and a deep sense of humility that I write what is likely my last communication related to EVE Online.
On the night of December 31, I co-hosted an episode of the Open Comms Show. On what was supposed to be a night of reverie and fun, I allowed my long-simmering frustrations with my co-host to get the better of me. The result was an expletive-laced, racially-insensitive tirade directed exclusively at that individual. I take full responsibility for both the outburst and the choice of words used, and wholeheartedly wish that I had chosen a different path.
I’m not going to delve into what led to the tirade in terms of the underlying frustrations, and I’m certainly not going to blame it on the alcohol involved. None of that mitigates the fact that I made a personally bad choice to allow myself to cross the line of respectful human behavior. This is not who I am, but there is no way of distancing myself from the reality of my own actions.
I would like to sincerely apologize to the guests present at the time, the listeners, and anyone who has subsequently heard the recording. None of you deserved to be subjected to any of it. I would also like to apologize to the staff of themittani.com for this having occurred on their twitch channel. Finally, I apologize to CCP for my actions. While none of this was directly associated with the company or its employees, I deeply regret the linkage in any way.
As a result of my actions, I am taking this time to walk away from podcasting or anything related to the “EVE media”, as well as the game for a while. This is something I have been contemplating for some time now, knowing that my frustrations related to both seemed to be coming to a head. It is a decision I wish I had made in advance of recent events.
Once again, I apologize to all those who were subjected to my behavior. EVE Online and the EVE community are things I value, and I am deeply sorry that my actions have irreparably tainted my relationship with both.
Regards,
Dirk MacGirk
The apology was the basis for this article. BC, the target of the insults, brushed off the verbal attacks and finished the show without his longtime co-host. He had this to say about the incident:
As far as I am concerned, what happened last night, while aggravating and a little embarrassing, was not a big deal to me. Outbursts have happened on occasion, similar to this, but I usually chalk it up to: I have know Dirk since 2008. I’ve been there for moments in his life and his kids life, [and although we’ve] never met IRL, I consider him to be as much a friend as anyone I have ever met face to face. I feel sometimes I get the brunt of [Dirk’s rants] since, I have a no fucks given attitude.
For me the biggest problem with all of this is his decision to step away from a project we both built for the past 4 years. I personally don’t think it is necessary, but it seems he does. So as far as the future of the show, honestly, no clue. I have no problem continuing on, as is, regardless of this situation, but that’s up to Dirk.
Tl;dr – no hurt feelings here, hope to see you all next Thursday in 2016, which we obviously brought in like rock stars.
The show will continue on its regularly scheduled time Thursday, 2:00 UTC, with BC and crew.
This article originally appeared on TheMittani.com, written by Matterall.
