Content warning: The following story contains references to alleged child abuse.
Edmund McMillen, the developer behind The Binding of Isaac and co-creator of Super Meat Boy, has issued a statement responding to claims that a website he hosted contained user posts linking to illegal online material, including child pornography. A document from an anonymous user containing a number of allegations has recently been shared among the Binding of Isaac community. It claims that, by accessing an archived version of the website, it is possible to find examples of posts shared on the forums wherein users provided links to other sites, some of which allegedly contained child pornography. Discontinued in the early ‘00s, McMillen says that the “old website” did not contain any illegal material or any links to illegal material. The document containing the allegations does not directly accuse McMillen of engaging in or encouraging posts relating to child pornography specifically. In his statement, McMillen says “I did not host a website that had anything illegal on it, nor did it ever even link to anything illegal,” and claims that the author of the document has previously attempted to “blackmail” him.
The document contains images, allegedly screenshots from various site versions archived by the online library The Wayback Machine, between 2002 and 2004. In a statement on the Binding of Isaac subreddit, McMillen says that the document contains “obvious lies,” and that the site did not host “CP,” an initialism for ‘child pornography.’
“I did not host a website that had anything illegal on it, nor did it ever even link to anything illegal,” McMillen says. “Over a year ago, someone attempted to blackmail me with a Google Doc, multiple times, claiming I hosted CP on an old website of mine in the early 2000s. This was obviously untrue so I told them to fuck off. They threatened to push their Google Doc to the world and get streamers and Reddit to ruin me. I ignored them and they vanished, until today it seems.
“I read their doc and from what I can see outside of obvious lies and an attempt to just paint me in the worst ways possible, so you believe said lies, [sic]. They try to manipulate you into not clicking links because of ‘CP’ when said links have nothing on them. The damning part of their claim is they think I linked to CP via a banner ad/link on my front page, because it said ‘teen X,’ assuming that somehow meant underage. And yes, I double checked the links just in case I missed something but no, of course not.
“The links I had on my website were very commonly used on edgy/adult humor websites and literally every one of those sites back then used them. CP isn’t some new controversy. If there was CP on a link even in 2000 people would be flipping out about it and would have let me know. Their [the author of the Google Doc, containing the allegations] forum claims are also insane. Even if I wasn’t moderating shit back then there is no way anything like that would have existed on that website.
“It sickens me to know that from here on out anyone who read that BS and believed it now assumes the worst,” McMillen continues. “Honestly shouldn’t be surprised [sic] that that person would come back and attempt to spread that rumor right as the trailer for my next game gets traction.”