Were Christian's conversations actually with Steve? Or were they with another employee, and then Steve mischaracterised them? It mentioned that an employee denied Christian access to Steve.

I don't use the app and I don't have any great attachment to Reddit, but I wondered if Reddit screwed themselves a bit here by not having a clearer link between the two parties. If either the Reddit employees involved or Steve entered the fray with any sort of bias/grievance, they likely misinterpreted the developer's comments.