A petition has been launched to have American actor Adam Baldwin banned at the upcoming Supanova Pop Culture Expo in Australia for his involvement in the #GamerGate controversy. Some people are threatening to boycott the sci-fi/fantasy fan convention if the “Firefly” actor appears in the Perth and Sydney venues.

Baldwin, 52, is scheduled to make an appearance at the convention from June 19 to 21 in Sydney, and from June 26 to 28 in Perth. However, if his detractors are successful, he would be skipping the event out. An online petition has been launched to ask Supanova organisers to revoke their invitation to Baldwin.

According to the petition, Baldwin has been involved in instances of harassment and abuse towards women. It specifies his involvement in the #GamerGate controversy, claiming he promoted the cause. Baldwin is credited to have started the hashtag when he tweeted links to videos criticising female indie game developers Zoe Quinn and Brianna Wu.

Petition starter Albert Santos further explained to Radio 6PR that the actor is to be blamed for the escalation of the controversy, which led to the harassment of the female indie game developers and their supporters. “He was one of the people who instigated the whole GamerGate hashtag, or the GamerGate movement. He’s the one who gave it a name and a direction – he was their leader,” Santos said.

Wu also expressed her support to ban Baldwin from the event. “Something geek culture is struggling with is making the culture open to women. I think @adambaldwin is the absolute opposite of this goal,” she tweeted.

Baldwin, however, claims he is a victim in this whole issue. He said that the petition is “built on lies/libel & perhaps violates the Australian Defamation Act. 2005 #77,” he tweeted, adding a link to the NSW act.

The petition currently has over 4,700 signatures, though there’s another petition asking for the exact opposite. The campaign wants Supanova organisers to not revoke Baldwin’s invitation, claiming banning the actor would mean people who don’t agree with Wu’s ideology would be blacklisted from media events. It currently has over 5,100 signatures.

Supanova founder Daniel Zachariou, on the other hand, gave a noncommittal reply to the petitions, instead asking for patience and understanding as they deal with the developments.

“Regardless of what the ultimate outcome is please know that we 100% agree with your right, as our fans, to have your say, to share your feelings, to create or sign petitions in the positive or the negative, to protest or support,” he wrote. “We only ask that you don’t vilify or attack one party or the other for holding differing views in the process.”

#GamerGate Controversy

Gamergate movement supporters say that they are concerned about the ethical issues in video game journalism. The detractors, meanwhile, have claimed that the cause is a front for promoting and perpetuating sexism and anti-feminism in the gaming industry.

The controversy began attracting media attention in August 2014 when Quinn, who released the critically acclaimed “Depression Quest” interaction game, received hate mail over her creation. Her critics claimed the game received undue attention, with some harassing her for over a year. A former boyfriend wrote a rant against Quinn as well after the game’s release on Steam, claiming she had an affair with a journalist from the video game blog Kotaku. This prompted speculations that “Depression Quest” only received positive review from the site because of her relationship with a writer. This was denied by the Web site’s editor.

Nevertheless, these allegations led to more harassments of Quinn and her family. They received rape and death threats, and have had their personal information and online accounts hacked and disclosed online.

Those who have voiced their support of Quinn were also harassed. Wu criticised Gamergate supporters for their misogynistic actions, and promptly became a target of hate as well. Like Quinn, her home address and other personal info were posted online. She also received rape and death threats on social media.

The debate about sexism and ethics still continues, with both supporters and critics of Gamergate claiming different things about the other. The critics say Gamergate is actually a sexist movement, though the supporters allege the detractors only cry misogyny to divert the attention from the real issue.