Sucker Punch studio head Brian Fleming has commented on the case of a studio veteran who was fired from the studio for "making [[link]] light" of the assassination of far-right activist Charlie Kirk.
Drew Harrison, who had worked at Sucker Punch as an artist for almost 10 years, wrote "I hope the shooter's name is Mario so that Luigi knows his bro got his back," in the immediate aftermath of Kirk's shooting—a reference to Luigi Mangione, the prime suspect in the December 2024 assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Numerous right- and far-right-wing influencers—including Tesla and xAI CEO —were on the prowl for negative comments about Kirk in the wake of his shooting with the aim of punishing progressive and critical voices.
A Sony rep present for the interview prevented it from delving into the issue further.
Harrison's swift dismissal did little to dull right-wing rage. Since her firing, cancel campaigns have gone after , , and numerous public figures and institutions outside of videogames, most notably talk show host Jimmy Kimmel (who was taken off the air) and Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah, who was fired from the paper for about Kirk's murder (the posts highlighted the disparity in coverage between Kirk's assassination and Democratic legislator Melissa Hortman, and quoted Kirk directly as saying "Black women do not have the brain processing power to be taken seriously.")
In posts subsequent to their firing, Harrison wrote "If standing up against fascism is what cost me my dream job I held for 10 years, I would do it again 100x stronger… Sucker Punch is amazing and one of the last few bright shining lights in the game industry. I still support them and I cannot condone any animosity directed at them. It’s truly [[link]] all the best people."