Super Smash Bros. pro Gonzalo Barrios, known as ZeRo, has admitted to sending sexual messages to a minor. The professional Smash player’s confession has also seen him remove himself from its competitive scene, though accusers have continued to make further allegations, claiming that ZeRo’s confession doesn’t tell the whole story.
Last week, Twitter user Katie posted a series of allegations against ZeRo in a Twitlonger post titled: ‘Dear @zerowondering, all I wanted was an apology.’ The post details several alleged instances of ZeRo sending manipulative and sexually suggestive messages to Katie when she was 14 years old.
Dear @zerowondering, all I wanted was an apology.
Read: https://t.co/9RRq2J0HUM
— Katie (@katietwtlonger) July 3, 2020
One allegation includes ZeRo asking Katie to send him images of her masturbating. “The worst offense I can remember is that you asked me to masturbate with ice and take pictures,” Katie wrote in the post. “I lied when I told you I masturbated as you asked and then I declined sending you pictures.”
Following Katie’s accusations, ZeRo posted a Twitlonger of his own. “Katie – The screenshot you guys were wondering about the ice cube thing? It’s true,” ZeRo wrote. “The claims that Katie makes are true in general. There are no graphic pictures of anything of the sort, but it’s unforgivable regardless. I want to just be clear about it here.”
https://twitter.com/zerowondering/status/1279228315270864898
However, ZeRo then went on to discuss a further encounter with another minor called Laura. ZeRo claimed that he wasn’t aware Laura was underage, as she only contacted him “years later” to inform him this was the case. Many feel that this conflates Katie’s story with Laura’s, and that it leads readers to believe that ZeRo had also been unaware of the former’s age, when this reportedly wasn’t the case.
https://twitter.com/JisuArtist/status/1279756862808748032
In a 64-page document compiled by artist Jackie “Jisu” Choe outlining the allegations in the Smash community, a number of screenshots are shared that allegedly depict conversations between ZeRo and Katie. One of the screenshots sees Katie inform ZeRo that she is 14 years old, with ZeRo continuing to talk with her after she reveals she is a minor.
In the following screenshots, ZeRo repeatedly refers to Katie as an “adorable cutie,” later calling her “my secret.” The messages also show him asking what grade she’s in before she informs him that she’s a freshman, with him then referring to her as a “baby hand.” One of the screenshots also sees ZeRo calling Katie a “perv,” adding: “It’s ok you growing up … You are still a baby.”
Jisu also noted her own experiences with ZeRo in the document she compiled. Discussing incidents she claims took place in the home of Smash pro Sky Williams, Jisu alleges that ZeRo showed her porn, hentai, and Craigslist ads for sex workers.
“Even when I would turn away to ignore him he wouldn’t stop laughing and I told him to stop, but he wouldn’t listen. This happened repeatedly and I even got up and left a few times,” She wrote. “It happened with hentai, it happened with Craigslist sex workers, he would even ask me for my opinions on the women and I would just look at him and the screen disgusted. Unfortunately, I held no power at the house and I had to accept that this was happening right next to my work desk.”
The allegations against ZeRo come in the wake of several claims of sexual abuse and harassment circling the Smash community. Last week, Smash pro Nairo was accused of sexual abuse, while EVO co-founder Mr. Wiz was put on paid leave following allegations that he tried to solicit nude images from a minor. Shortly after, EVO then said it was now in the process of completely separating him from the company.
