Help Crystal Huff's Legal Defense
In 2018, Crystal Huff published a #MeToo blog post addressed to the Arisia community. Crystal is now being sued for defamation, over two years later, for the content of that blog post. You can google Crystal's post if you haven't yet read it, and you can probably google the complaint against Crystal, because it was posted to the internet a day before Crystal was served with it.
It's hard to know what to say, here, without running the risk that a fundraising campaign to help Crystal would end up being added to the lawsuit. What is clear, though, is that Crystal is far from rich, and defense against a lawsuit is expensive. One person in the fandom community recently related that defending herself from a similar defamation lawsuit cost her $200,000 and took 3 years.
Crystal has talked publicly about having earned about $2,000 during the entire year of 2020. Steve, Crystal's spouse, earns a higher salary, but a good legal defense is simply beyond their ability to fund. This lawsuit must be answered, and for that, Crystal needs support from their community.
Anything you can do to help would be appreciated. If you can add money to this fund, if you can spread the word, if you can offer other kinds of help -- please do. Crystal's work online and in person has touched many lives, between science fiction, feminism, tech, gardening, and political organizing. It would be great to see them receive support in return.
Your donations will go to paying Crystal's lawyer. If somehow more donations are raised than legal fees occur, the leftover amount will be donated to RAINN or a like-minded local organization. We are setting the initial goal of this fundraiser at $10,000, but we know that this lawsuit has already cost Crystal's family more than that sum.
We, Crystal's friends, will update this fundraiser when appropriate.
ETA: thank you all SO MUCH for your generosity! We will be withdrawing the funds and sending them to Crystal's lawyer starting in March. Her bills are mounting, so I will be updating the fund goals to reflect that. Please keep spreading the word!
