In the wake of his article asserting that the participants in Todd Standing's various video enterprises were aware that what they were participating in was a deliberate mockumentary, Tyler Huggins has issued a statement challenging Standing to "release any and all participants in any of [Standing's] efforts surrounding Sasquatch, of any confidentiality agreements they signed."

Controversy has plagued Standing since the release of his purported documentary Discovering Bigfoot; from accusations of silencing critics to profiteering to skepticism of the motivation behind two lawsuits claiming to prove the existence of Sasquatch. Huggins' article and statement represent the latest allegations made against Standing.

The statement was released to The Singular Fortean Society in an email received on Thursday, March 1st.

The witnesses tell me they would be willing to be verified/come forward if Todd will release them from their NDAs. A public statement by Mr. Standing that releases all participants in any of his Sasquatch efforts from any confidentiality agreements, could accomplish that. If the alleged NDAs do not exist, or if Standing has nothing to hide, he should make a statement like “I hereby release any and all participants in any of my efforts surrounding Sasquatch, of any confidentiality agreements they signed with me. The only information that they must continue to keep confidential is the location where the footage was shot, and any proprietary methods that I have for attracting sasquatch” or something similar. He can put caveats in place to protect any legitimate concerns he may have about proprietary information. I think all Standing supporters should clamour for this transparency before they defend him.

Subpoenas from the government would be another avenue that would allow the witnesses to speak freely. Of course, it’s possible that if someone were worried that the witnesses might get subpoenaed, any cases against the government may get withdrawn or settled out of court. If any participants who paid to go on Todd’s expeditions were to decide to pursue anything in the courts, I suppose they may also try to subpoena the witnesses. I am not encouraging that – only stating that it is another potential eventuality that could lead to the witnesses speaking more freely.

I won’t categorically state whether or not the claims in the article should be believed – that is up to the reader. I will say that I hope that most would agree that my past efforts (Sierra Sample genetic testing, Ketchum, Standing) have established that I try to be diligent, fair and truthful; and that I personally am convinced of everything that the sources told me, and everything that I wrote, otherwise I would not have written it. The sources were eye-witnesses, participants and/or people who were in a position to make the claims they made, and I was able to verify that they were who they claimed to be.

In general, people should be willing to believe anonymous witnesses only when it rings true, and with the understanding that they often MUST remain anonymous due to unreasonable restrictions placed on them, and/or fears of retaliation. If there were no such fears, there would be no need for anonymity. It is only when transparency is lacking, that there is ever any need to turn to anonymous sources.

The Singular Fortean Society has reached out to Standing through his website, sylvanic.com, for a response to these allegations, and will provide any updates as they are received.

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