Here's an Official Statement from DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Regarding Zak Smith
Zak Smith is a game designer who is closely related to many aspects of Dungeons & Dragons including playtesting and consulting. This landed his name in the Player’s Handbook even. However, Smith was recently accused by several women of being sexually violent and abusive towards them. This has led to several RPG companies including DriveThruRPG to cut ties with Smith, and now D&D has released an official statement on the matter.
“To all D&D fans,
We spent the last week listening and learning from the D&D community.
Zak Smith, along with many others, was engaged by Wizards to provide feedback on D&D Next, the playtest which evolved into D&D fifth edition. We have not contracted with him since, and regret our choice to do so in 2014. Because of that, we are removing Zak’s credit from future physical printings and digital versions of the Player’s Handbook.
We applaud how the D&D community supports one another and fully support the planned Dungeon Masters Guild bundle raising funds to donate to RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network). The bundle is live now and we will be amplifying it going forward!
We are grateful to be a part of this wonderful community, and we thank you for your passion. We remain committed to working with and learning from you, the D&D community. You may always share your comments and thoughts with us on our social media platforms and we are setting up an email address to receive feedback more directly.
Sincerely,
The D&D Team”
You can head over to DMs Guild to purchase any of the bundles created to raise money for RAINN.