Kinda Funny co-founder Colin Moriarty quits in wake of sexist tweet (update)

Kinda Funny co-founder Colin Moriarty quit his position today, saying that he was leaving the group that formed in 2015 “effective immediately.” The move comes in the wake of an offensive tweet Moriarty posted on International Women's Day last week.

Moriarty announced via Facebook that he is moving on from Kinda Funny, a network of online gaming shows he co-hosts with a team of three other presenters.

"It’s with a heavy heart and great sadness that I announce my resignation from Kinda Funny, effective immediately," Moriarty wrote. He said that, following a discussion with his teammates, he decided to move on. A former IGN writer, Moriarty is known for his broadly right-wing views. He has recently appeared on various right-wing and conservative outlets, including the Glenn Beck Radio Program and the Rubin Report, to discuss politics.

“Opportunities are already popping up for me, bringing me in a new, different, and exciting direction,” added Moriarty. “Obviously, you haven’t seen or heard the last of me. Far from it.”

Last week, Moriarty, whose Twitter tag is “notaxation,” sent this tweet, which was roundly condemned as sexist.

Moriarty’s comment drew criticism from his current and former colleagues at Kinda Funny and IGN, who appeared to lament the sexist tone of the joke and fan response to blowback.

His business partner Greg Miller subsequently issued an apology, stating that he personally believed the tweet to be "in poor taste." He said that Moriarty would not be attending last weekend's PAX East, where the rest of the Kinda Funny team appeared. Moriarty had previously defended his tweet as "a blatantly obvious joke.”

During a livestream on Twitch, Miller addressed today’s news at the start of the group’s morning show.

“We’re super sad,” he said. “We had a long conversation today. The long and short of it is, we’ve been moving in two directions for a long time. There’s no hurt feelings; we’re not mad at him, he’s not mad at us. We’re just going in two completely opposite directions in terms of what we want to do and that’s OK.”

Miller also said that Moriarty’s departure was not solely related to his controversial tweet from last week. “The tweet and the whole exchange last week, while upsetting, obviously, [Colin’s resignation] is not because of that,” he said. “That is a symptom, if not the most public expression, that there was something happening in terms of us growing apart.”

Polygon contacted Miller for further comment. He emailed us a statement. “Colin will forever be a part of Kinda Funny; he co-founded this, we love him, and we’ll forever be in his debt for what he built with us. Today’s bittersweet, but it’s for the best. We want him to succeed, and he wants us to succeed. This is the best way for that to happen. We can’t wait to have him on for one final GameOverGreggy Show and to see what he does next.”

Note: The author of this story worked at IGN with Colin Moriarty for a brief period some years ago.

Update: The headline and subheadline of this story have been updated.

Update 2: This story has been updated with comments from Greg Miller from a Kinda Funny livestream and to clarify Moriarty’s recent media appearances.

Update 3: Greg Miller’s statement to Polygon added.