Cooper Lawrence, the author who staunchly criticized Mass Effect on a segment of Fox News, has changed her mind about the game's sexual content, saying now "I recognize that I misspoke."
Since the report aired, Lawrence has actually watched someone play the game--something she neglected to do before offering her "expert" opinion on it-- and now thinks she misunderstood the situation.
"Before the show I had asked somebody about what they had heard, and they had said it's like pornography. But it's not like pornography. I've seen episodes of 'Lost' that are more sexually explicit," she said.
If you'd like to take a moment to be morally outraged at an "expert" offering up her opinion based on what other people "had heard," go ahead.
In her role in the segment as a "psychology specialist," Lawrence offered the opinion that adolescent males "not their dads," are the ones playing videogames, and that games like Mass Effect "don't show women as being valued for anything other than their sexuality."
"I really regret saying that," Lawrence told The New York Times, "and now that I've seen the game and seen the sex scenes it's kind of a joke."
Lawrence may have been inspired to revisit her opinion after hundreds of angry gamers lashed out at the author by submitting one-star user reviews for her book The Cult of Perfection, torpedoing its rating on Amazon.com.
EA's Jeff Brown sent an email to Fox News calling the segment "insulting," and asking the network to correct its errors. Fox News says they have invited EA to appear on Live Desk With Martha MacCallum in order to set the record straight, but have yet to receive a response.
See also: 'Sexbox' on Fox News: Bullet Dodged
See also: EA Asks Fox to Clear Up Mass Effect Mess
See also: Angry Gamers Strike Back at Fox News 'Expert'
See also: Mass Effect Mess: Fox News Reaches Out
Author Faults a Game, and Gamers Flame Back [New York Times]
