♪ this is "nightline." tonight, the new front line in a battle of the sexes. >> video games. >> the crusade against game like "grand theft auto." >> you can do whatever you want. >> and the shocking backlash. >> there's an enormous amount of hate directed toward me. >> from head shots to mug shots. a top model's hard fall from grace. we're behind bars to hear about it firsthand. >> i didn't even recognize me anymore. bridezilla? we meet someone that can make your wed going on off without a hitch. bridesmaid for hire. ensuring your happily ever after, for a price. but first, the "nightline 5." >> i will embrace change. everything life throws my way.

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good evening. thank you for joining us. tonight, violent depictions of women being beaten raped, and run over by cars. it's not the movies it's video games. and now the women calling for change in this multi-billion dollar virtual industry are facing a very real backlash including death threats. here's my "nightline" coanchor

juju chang. >> reporter: for anita sarkisian, this is the new normal. armed escorts at public events. trac move. >> i'm constantly aware of the fact that there's an enormous amount of hate directed toward me. >> reporter: hate in the form of bomb threats, rape threats, even death threats. on this morning, high alert at loyola university in chicago. it's anita's first speaking engagement since threats of a shooting massacre forced her to cancel her last appearance. all because this media critic dared to criticize something millions of us play every day. >> video games. >> reporter: video games. the threats making splashy headlines around the world. on shows like "melissa harris perry." and web casts like democracy now and huff post live. >> violent threats for pointing out sexism in video games. >> things got heated to say the least. >> reporter: the harassment became part of what's now known as gamergate.

what started as an online spat about the ethics of gaming journalism quickly escalated into a full-blown culture war. >> women shouldn't be mere disposable objects or symbolic pawns in stories about men. >> reporter: and a small but hardcore group of gamers resistant to change. >> god ordained that it is one man, one joystick. >> reporter: but gamergate doesn't just affect boys playing in a basement. the stakes are much higher than you might think. we're now spending more money on games than movies and music combined. to the tune of $21 billion. and what might surprise you, there are now more adult women playing video games than there are teenage boys. we're talking about fantastical scenarios like the ones in bio shock, epiced a ventures in games like mirror's edge. what is it that's so disturbing in some games that's making women like anita willing to face death threats? >> just when you think your hurt

the worst example, the most misogynistic example, you find another one. escapism is big business. half of us are playing games like this one, "grand theft auto 5." critics say in these virtual worlds things take a turn for the dark side. as a player you can solicit a prostitute, kill her, and if that's not enough, you have the option to run her over. >> the sense of violence against women being used as almost background decoration. as texture to make an environment gritty more real. >> reporter: there are plenty of games that aren't violent or sexualized. but some of the best-selling games are especially egregious. on her website, anita dissects these games. >> developers regularly utilize the brutalization of women's bodies. and faeshl the bodies of female prostitutes. >> reporter: her goal, to bring attention to what she calls the inherent misogyny in the gaming world. in "watchdog" she points out how women are murdered to give the hero a reason to chase down a

bad guy. >> it gets worse and worse, reinforces this idea as women of sexual objects, reinforces this idea of women as playthings for their amusement. >> reporter: it's this kind of talk that makes her a target. >> that's when the cyber mob descended. >> reporter: bombarding her with mostly anonymous tweets and messages. "i will rape you when i get the chance." hiding behind user names and claims of free speech. "i'm sitting outside your apartment with a loaded gun." "your neighbors won't hear your screaming in pain." someone created a grotesque game where players can beat and punch a picture of her face. >> ow ow! >> reporter: the virtual harassment turned very real when her online attackers published her social security number, her home address. and she's not the only one. >> they told me they were coming to kill me. they told me specifically they were going to castrate my husband. >> reporter: women like briana wu, an independent game developer, was driven out of heir home all for tweeting her

opinion. >> whesomeone posts your address online and they tell you they'll murder your whole family? you don't really feel safe staying at that location. >> reporter: so far, the gamergate harassment against briana and other women like her has remained online. but the fbi is taking it seriously enough it's started a file. >> i'm so hesitant to use the phrase terror. because i think it's such a politically loaded word.but this is -- it's terrorism on women in this industry. it's scaring every single one of us. >> why such hate why such anger? >> i think a lot of it comes from this idea that gaming is a male-dominated space. and that games are for men, by men. it's a very misogynist backlash. women are not meant to be treated with respect. >> reporter: something even the most casual female gamer is familiar with. watch what happens when the men in this online session of counter strike learn there's a woman playing in their midst. >> are you an archaeologist?

i have a big bone for you to examine. >> reporter: it's less brutal than what anita and briana experienced but it does show the ease with which offensive behavior is tossed out at women. >> i'd give you my skin first if you know what i mean huh? >> i'm really just here to play like everybody else. >> reporter: but she's not treated like everyone else which is at the heart of gamergate. media critics argue women like stephanie need to stop being abused as players in the real world and as avatars in the virtual world. given that women make up nearly half of this country's gamers this isn't a feminist issue, it's just smart business. >> the demographic should be a hajj makeup call to executives of gaming companies because there is a huge amount of money to be made out of taking women seriously. and out of demonstrating to women that you are taking them seriously. >> reporter: we've reached out for comment multiple times to rock star games, ub soft, the companies behind these games, to

ask about the way women are portrayed. but thus far we've received no reply. and yet there are some signs of change in the gaming community. >> it's time we realized things from a different perspective. how would someone else how would a woman look at this? >> reporter: more and more developers like tim shaffer are seeing the need for more women programmers and girl-friendly games like "broken age." >> once you sat down and tried to play the game with your daughter, tried to find games where she can play a character that she identifies with you start to feel bad about not putting that option in your own games. >> reporter: even lara croft, tomb raider got a makeover. more clothes, less curves. >> i remember playing "tomb raider: guardian of light." produced by a woman, a really good game the game did well. we'll see more of that. >> reporter: the majority of gamers like chris scott, manager of 8bit and up condemn gatorgate threats of violence. but he's not alone in believing critics like anita exaggerate

the problem. >> she's trying to capitalize on controversy. >> reporter: he also says the gaming world on the whole shouldn't be judged by a few extreme examples. >> when people complain about games like "assassins creed," "grand theft auto," whatever it's similar to complaining about hip-hop and rap music today saying, well, it's vee lent. that's not what hip-hop is about. you can't judge gaming by what's selling, you have to really get into the medium to understand it before you start saying this is what gaming is about. >> reporter: scott suggests at the end of the day, they're just games. >> i know in the real world there are strong women that don't need to be saved. >> how do you respond to critic hot say, this is fantasy, this is not reality, you have to lighten up? >> yeah, that's a fun argument. games have a huge impact on our society. so it's not just fantasy. it actually works to potentially reinforce some pretty harmful messages about women. >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm juju chang in san francisco, california.

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she wanted to be on top. but the pressure pushed her down. we're bringing you a cautionary tale of an ex-model who found herself not on the runway but locked up in a cell block. tonight she speaks out from

behind bars. her advice to keep others from spiraling down the same dark road. here's abc's linzie janis. >> oh my gosh! >> hi. renee, i'm 20 i'm from maui. >> reporter: she wanted to be america's next top model. >> renee and natasha, please step forward. >> reporter: drive and determination weren't enough for renee allway placing a disappointing third in the hugely popular reality show's eighth series in 2007. but one of the next head shots the world would see of this beautiful young woman? this shocking mug shot. snapped in the summer of 2013. the former model's face covered in sores. allway next seen in court, again almost unrecognizable. haggard. her head shaved. the ex-reality tv star speaking

as an inmate from inside california's riverside county jail. >> i can't even remember what was happening then. that's how bad it was. i have bits and pieces of broken -- broken memory about it. >> reporter: now 28 allway says it all began after the bright tv lights went out. >> i couldn't get past the reality tv stigma that had been put on me. then there's the pressure of the fans, you know. where are you? what happened? it's almost like a setup for failure. >> jimmy: so she began heading down a familiar path abusing drugs. >> drugs have been a part of my life since i was young. >> reporter: allway by now a mother of two small children becoming increasingly desperate. there were a string of arrests. allway accused of breaking into people's homes and cars, stealing weapons, money, and

other valuable items. >> once you're on that downward spiral, it's -- it's nearly impossible to stop. >> reporter: police reports describing her as a homeless woman living in her car with her two kids. on one occasion allway allegedly under the influence of heroin. an officer writing, she turned and screamed in my face. i feared she was trying to bite my face. i pushed her face away from me with my left palm. months later, officers answering a call about a suspicious woman trying to climb over a wall into a gated complex in palm springs. >> you kind of get a case of forget it, then. i'm just going to do whatever i do. and you're numb to it. you just go for it. >> reporter: they say they arrived to find one of the units broken into. inside, allway lying on a loaded semiautomatic handgun. >> i remember bits and pieces of it. i remember s.w.a.t. i remember having guns. i remember feeling like well

come and get me. >> i think that the drastic contrast from the spotlight and the constant 24/7 camera presence of being on a reality show to suddenly being thrust back into your old life just going back to being completely anonymous, is a psychological shock. reporter: allway is far from the first reality tv show star to go to the dark side after a stint in the spotlight. >> get the [ bleep ] out! >> i am leaving. >> get out! >> i'm keeping her. >> reporter: take teen mom amber portwood, whose struggle with young motherhood caused controversy on screen. >> i'm keeping her for a while. >> reporter: offscreen, a debilitating drug problem landing her in trouble. she left court-mandated rehab and served 17 months in prison. "american idol" contestant jessica sierra -- ♪ >> reporter: another ex-star who ended up on the wrong side of the law.

>> what led you to want to pursue treatment? >> i guess after i arrested and stuff. and the disappointment in my family. >> reporter: sierra checked into dr. drew's celebrity rehab after plead nothing contest to battery and cocaine possession in 2007. >> a lot of times, you know these people were picked for reality shows because they had a penchant for drama. it really escalates any risk factors they had. >> reporter: just weeks before her final arrest renee allway giving birth to a third child. she'd already chosen to give up custody of her other two children. as drugs took over her life. >> when they were no longer right there with me and i no longer had that purpose -- it's one thing to mail your parents, it's one thing to fail your fans and your friends. it's something completely different to fail your blood, your children. >> reporter: in the end, allway making a deal with prosecutors. pleading guilty to multiple counts of burglary as well as

vehicle theft, illegal possession of a weapon, and didn'ty theft. she's now serving a 12-year sentence. so does she blame any of her time in the spotlight? >> i can't really say, but regardless of whether you win or not, you have to recognize the strength in yourself. and be able to be proud of who you are, regardless other people think. >> reporter: for "nightline," linzie janis, abc news, new york. next something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. and now there's something more if you're willing to pay for it. take kevin hart and "the wedding ringer" for real. ♪ ♪ ♪ we're on a mission, a mission for underwareness, a cause to support the over 65 million people who may need the trusted protection of depend underwear.

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>> reporter: it's not just a plat line for jen, it's her business plan. >> jimmy: this started when i posted an ad on craigslist offering my services as a bridesmaid to stlamplers around the world. >> reporter: she received 100 e-mails in 48 hours. bridesmaid for hire was born. >> weddings are stressful and i'd rather preserve a friendship than force someone to be in my wedding party. >> reporter: that's why bride to be ashley blanchard jumped at the chance to bring in an expert. >> what did your fiance say? >> his exact words were, i don't get it but if it makes you happy, whatever. >> reporter: jen says she can help drieds with any budget. she'll be everything from a virtual bridesmaid for $199 to the go-to gal by your side starting at $1,100. that's the package ashley selected. >> so we're shopping for lingerie. is this weird at all for you? with jen? >> no. no. i have no personal boundaries with other women. >> reporter: demands for her besmoke services have grown so fast, jen is training two other

bridesmaids so they'll be ready for big days like this. just hours before ashley ties the knot jen is there to make sure she's perfectly >> looks good. >> reporter: and ready to go down the aisle. she even helps with prewedding jitters. >> i'm so nervous, oh my god. >> i'm excited. ♪ >> reporter: ashley's wedding goes off without a hitch. for the professional bridesmaid that means this story has a fairy tale ending. for "nightline," i'm sarah haines in new york. >> it's been said a wedding is a party, not a performance. if at the end of the day your marriage to the one you love then everything went perfectly. thank you for watching inging abc news. we're online at abcnews.com. good night, america.

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