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In response to the Activision Blizzard lawsuit filed by the State of California, former President Mike Morhaime and current President J. Allen Brack released public and company-focused statements regarding the allegations in the lawsuit. .
Earlier this week, it was reported that a two-year investigation by the state of California resulted in a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard. The investigation uncovered multiple accounts of sexual harassment, discrimination, intimidation, unfair pay, inappropriate behavior and comments directed against female employees within the company.
Now, a former senior Blizzard executive and a current executive have responded to the allegations made against the developer, one publicly and the other privately, calling the described behavior unacceptable.
Current Blizzard Chairman J. Allen Brack said in a leaked email obtained by Forbes that he hates the “bro-culture” and that the allegations of current and former employees are “extremely disturbing”.
Brack states in the email that it is “unacceptable” for anyone in the company to be the victim of discrimination or harassment and that everyone should feel safe working with the company, either in the office or at an event such as BlizzCon.
He goes on to say that “it takes courage to come forward” and that all allegations made are investigated internally and, if necessary, externally.
“We take these claims very seriously,” he said. “Claims can be made without fear of reprisal, and often I deal with them personally with our other leaders. “
As noted by Massively OP, Brack is one of the parties listed in the California lawsuit against Activision Blizzard for failing to take “effective corrective action” with respect to employee complaints. It is stated in the documents that Alex Afrasiabi, former senior creative director of WoW and also named in the lawsuit, has been charged by staff members with multiple harassment offenses.
According to the lawsuit (page 15), Brack apparently verbally counseled Afrasiabi on several occasions, and despite a “slap on the wrist,” Afrasiabi allegedly continued to make derogatory remarks, sexually harass and fiddle with female employees.
Meanwhile, co-founder and former president of Blizzard Entertainment Mike Morhaime has spoken out against the behavior described in the lawsuit. In an open letter, Morhaime said he was sorry if he let down some female employees and felt like he let them down.
Here is his statement in full:
“I’ve read the entire Activision Blizzard complaint and many other stories. It’s all very disturbing and hard to read. I’m ashamed. I feel like everything I thought I was standing for was Worse but more importantly, real people were hurt and some women had terrible experiences.
“I worked at Blizzard for 28 years. During this time, I have tried very hard to create a safe and welcoming environment for people of all genders and backgrounds. I knew it wasn’t perfect, but clearly we were a long way from that goal. The fact that so many women have been abused and not supported means that we have let them down. Additionally, we have failed to make people feel safe speaking their truth. It’s no consolation that other companies have faced similar challenges. I wanted us to be different, better.
“Harassment and discrimination exist. They are prevalent in our industry. It is the responsibility of management to ensure that all employees feel safe, supported and treated fairly, regardless of their gender and origin. It is the responsibility of leaders to eradicate toxicity and harassment in all its forms, at all levels of the company. To the Blizzard women who have been through any of these things, I am extremely sorry to have disappointed you.
“I realize these are just words, but I wanted to pay tribute to women who have had terrible experiences. I hear you, I believe you, and I’m sorry I let you down. I want to hear your stories if you are ready to share them. As a leader in our industry, I can and will use my influence to make positive change and fight misogyny, discrimination and harassment wherever I can.
“I believe we can do better, and I believe that the gaming industry can be a place where women and minorities are welcomed, included, supported, recognized, rewarded and ultimately unfettered the opportunity to bring the types of contributions we all join. this industry to do. I want the mark I leave on this industry to be something we can all be proud of. “
A current Blizzard employee, Josh “Devolore” Allen, calls Morhaime’s statement “100% bullshit”, alleging that the former executive knew what was going on inside the company.
“If I had known this was happening I would have stopped it,” said the man who was repeatedly told it was happening and who did nothing to stop it.
“I have refrained from giving my own comments on the situation at Actiblizz because frankly, there are more important people you should be listening to right now. But that statement from a certain former leader was 100% bullshit and I’m furious about it.
“He knew. He didn’t do anything. Make no mistake, the current leadership is also very tough right now. But please don’t believe for a second that the culture that made it all happen. produce over the past two decades has been sort of built by the guy who has been in charge for 3 years.
A former employee also spoke out against Morhaime’s statement and produced an email sent to him in 2018 regarding a male employee who was promoted despite “gross bad behavior”. She says in the email that men like this anonymous employee would end up “costing the company and its good name money.”
“As long as the men in power behave in a predatory manner towards the women in the company, it will be impossible for women to feel really comfortable, valued or secure, it will be increasingly difficult for the company to do so. business of attracting and retaining talented women who love games.
Contrary to statements made by current and former Blizzard chairman Fran Townsend, executive vice president of general affairs at Activision Blizzard, who has been with the company for four months and is the former security adviser interior of George W. Bush, sent an email which can only be described as dismissive and a bit defensive.
According to statements made in Townsend’s email, the lawsuit presents a “distorted and misleading picture” of the company and that the allegations are “factually incorrect”, old and tell “stories out of context” some of which, it says. it, happened “over a decade ago.”
She says the company takes a “tough approach” to an inappropriate or hostile work environment, and carries the company’s Speak Up campaign that “reinforces” the company’s “zero tolerance” to retaliation against those who speak out.
“We work for a company that truly values equality and fairness,” the email reads. “Rest assured that management is committed to continuing to maintain a safe, fair and inclusive workplace.
“We cannot allow the blatant actions of others and a truly baseless and irresponsible lawsuit to undermine our culture of respect and equal opportunity for all employees. We aspire in our community to do great things: in our games, in our impact on society and in our work environment. We continue to uphold our principles and invest, as we have done in the past, the necessary resources to ensure quality opportunities for all employees.
“We remain committed as a management team to do the right thing. “
Since the lawsuit was only recently filed, it may be some time before Activision Blizzard has its place in court. Until then, we can only speculate that things will get worse for the company before they get better and some heads will fall in the fallout, if last year’s scandal involving Ubisoft is any indication of what is going on. to arrive.