Two people who knew Theresa Duncan speak out

A former boyfriend of Theresa Duncan’s has posted an “open letter to Kate Coe” on his blog, explaining how she “got it wrong” in her L.A. Weekly story. Duncanologists will appreciate reading his vigorous defense of Duncan.

In his letter, he addresses Monica Gesue’s (co-creator of Chop Suey) account (given in Coe’e L.A. Weekly story) of what went down at Magnet Interactive (where he, Duncan and Gesue worked) on the day that Duncan was fired:

Having been working at Magnet and dating Theresa at the time, the story you tell, which you refer to as Theresa’s “Shoo-fly Pie meltdown,” is very different from what I remember. What I do remember clearly is our shock when her partner, without Theresa's knowledge, requested a meeting with Magnet's owner and senior creative director where she made the wild accusation that the game Theresa had written was "racist." And I remember thinking how crazy that claim was, for I had read all the drafts of the game treatment. Indeed, Shoo-fly Pie was as sweet and whimsical as all of Theresa's other games would prove to be.

Why Monica did this is something for her to answer (I can only speculate), as she must have known that it would create an untenable work situation and precipitate a painful falling out between them. As for the other assertions made by her, I won't even dignify them with comment except to say they are so gossipy and malicious that they should have given you, as a reporter, pause about your source.

Gesue has responded in the comments section of his blog, writing:

I want to clarify what actually happened at Magnet. It may not be clear what I told Kate Coe because of the editing and limitations of space.

I had reservations about the "Shoo-Fly Pie" project. I didn't feel like I could talk to Theresa about it, because she was becoming increasingly hostile towards me, sometimes without provocation.

What follows is a riveting read--a detailed account of Gesue's recollection of that day and of their relationship since. Please go there and check it out for yourself.