Marty O’Donnell, a former video game composer best known for his work at Bungie, is running as a Republican candidate for Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District. Comments made by O’Donnell in August 2024 have indicated a troubling pattern of workplace misconduct allegations.
The controversy stems from a statement O’Donnell posted on his public “Marty Army” Discord server in late August 2024, seemingly bragging about perpetuating a hostile and inflammatory culture against women.
In the post, O’Donnell wrote: “Heh, well Bungie made better games when it was a ‘boy’s club’. I still remember trying to erase the artists’ white boards before women came to visit. I’ll never understand how Lorraine tolerated it.”
The message was shared shortly after reporting by Bloomberg indicating that Bungie had terminated director Christopher Barrett following an internal human resources investigation into alleged inappropriate conduct toward multiple female employees.
O’Donnell’s comments drew widespread revulsion on social media.
Within days of O’Donnell’s post, former Bungie artist Lorraine McLees—known for designing the original Halo logo—responded publicly on social media. In a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), McLees disputed O’Donnell’s characterization of workplace culture and described a troubling 1999 incident at a Bungie Halloween party.
According to her account, O’Donnell—wearing a mask and trench coat—approached female employees and touched them inappropriately without identifying himself. McLees stated she held a kitchen knife to deter him, and that Bungie co-founders Alex Seropian and Joe Staten intervened to stop his bizarre, perverted display.
McLees’ account was widely circulated across gaming industry outlets and online forums in late August and early September 2024, with references to her original posts preserved in community archives and discussion threads. O’Donnell has not publicly addressed the specific allegations described in McLees’ account in detail, though his earlier Discord comments remain a focal point of criticism.
O’Donnell’s professional history has also drawn renewed attention in light of his candidacy. He was terminated from Bungie in April 2014, a move that led to litigation between him and the company. In a separate legal matter related to that dispute, he was held in contempt of court in July 2021.
Populist Sentinel has reported on O’Donnell’s history as a Never Trumper. He has made many viciously anti-Trump comments, ones that he has still refused to ever atone for.
“If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s Donald Trump,” O’Donnell wrote in an X post. In another post, O’Donnell wrote: “Donald Trump is an idiot. Period.”
“Remember the horse in Animal Farm? The horses are voting for Trump,” O’Donnell wrote, alluding to President Trump’s supporters as being suckers.
In another post, O’Donnell made it clear that he is a staunch establishment Republican, outlining his anti-America First political leanings. He wrote, “For the record: Love William F. Buckley and Milton Friedman. Love Ronald Reagan. Love Condi Rice and Thomas Sowell. Loath Trump and absolutely abhor the Clintons. Tolerate Ron and Rand Paul. Almost impossible to vote in any recent elections.”
These statements and the long history of harassment allegations make it clear that O’Donnell is the wrong choice for Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District.
