After receiving a thorough shellacking for pulling its advertising campaign from gaming site Gamasutra this week, Intel issued a statement this evening arguing that it did not intend on taking sides in the ugly #GamerGate debate, nor did it want to give the impression that it is in any way anti-woman and anti-equality. According to the release:

When it comes to our support of equality and women, we want to be very clear: Intel believes men and women should be treated the same. And, diversity is an integral part of our corporate strategy and vision with commitments to improve the diversity of our workforce. And while we respect the right of individuals to have their personal beliefs and values, Intel does not support any organization or movement that discriminates against women. We apologize and we are deeply sorry if we offended anyone.

The statement doesn't signal an about face on Intel's part, however, since the original ads haven't reappeared on Gamasutra. Considering the fact that #GamerGate has ballooned well beyond the scope of gaming and into the murky realm of corruption in the industry, it's easy to assume that Intel was snowed by the issue's complexity. Still, given how much of the movement is devoted to harassing female gamers in the space, the statement rings a little hollow.