In response to California’s lawsuit against Activision Blizzard, former President Mike Mohammed and current President J. Allen Braque issued public and company-focused statements on the allegations made in the lawsuit.
Earlier this week, it was reported that a two-year investigation in California had filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard. The investigation revealed multiple claims of sexual harassment, discrimination, bullying, unfair pay, inappropriate behavior and comments against female employees in the company.
Now, a former senior manager of Blizzard and a current manager have resolved the allegations against the developer by calling the outlined behavior unacceptable, one publicly and one privately.
The current Blizzard president J. Allen Brack said in a statement Leaked email obtained by Forbes He hates the “brother culture” and the allegations made by current and former employees are “extremely disturbing.”
Brack said in an email that it is “unacceptable” for anyone in the company to face discrimination or harassment, and everyone should feel safe to cooperate with the company, whether in the office or at events such as BlizzCon.
He went on to say that “it takes courage to come forward” and that all allegations raised will be investigated internally and externally when necessary.
“We take these statements very seriously,” he said. “You can file a claim without worrying about retaliation. In many cases, I will handle the claim personally with our other leaders.”
As Massively OP pointed out, Brack is one of the parties listed in the California lawsuit against Activision Blizzard because it did not take “effective remedies” when it came to claims made by female employees. The document pointed out that Alex Afrasiabi, the former senior creative director of WoW, was accused by staff of multiple harassment violations.
According to the lawsuit (page 15), Braque apparently made verbal suggestions to Afrasiabi many times, despite the “slap on the wrist,” Afrasiabi allegedly continued to make derogatory remarks, sexual harassment, and groping female employees.
At the same time, Mike Morhaime, the co-founder and former president of Blizzard Entertainment, publicly opposed the actions described in the lawsuit. In an open letter, Morhaime said that if he disappoints any female employees, he is sorry, but he thinks he has let them down.
The following is the full text of his statement:
“I have read the full complaint against Activision Blizzard and many other stories. It’s all very disturbing and difficult to read. I am ashamed. It feels like I thought everything I represented was washed away. Worse. But more importantly, real people have been hurt, and some women have had terrible experiences.
“I have worked at Blizzard for 28 years. During that time, I worked very hard to create a safe and welcoming environment for people of all genders and backgrounds. I know this is not perfect, but it is clear that we are still far from that goal. Far away. The fact that so many women are abused and not supported means that we let them down. In addition, we have not succeeded in making people feel safe to tell the truth. Other companies face similar challenges. This is not comforting. I hope we are different and better.
“Harassment and discrimination exist. They are common in our industry. Regardless of gender and background, leadership has a responsibility to make all employees feel safe, supported, and treated fairly. Leadership has a responsibility at all levels of the company Put an end to any form of poisoning and harassment. For Blizzard women who have experienced these things, I am very sorry to let you down.
“I realize these are just talks, but I want to thank those women who have experienced bad experiences. I hear your voice, I believe in you, and I am sorry to let you down. If you are willing to share, I want to hear from you As a leader in our industry, I can and will use my influence to drive positive change and fight misogyny, discrimination and harassment wherever I can.
“I believe that we can do better, and I believe that the gaming industry can become a place that welcomes, inclusive, supports, recognizes, rewards women and minorities, and ultimately unhindered to make the types of contributions that we all join in The opportunity for this industry to do. I hope that the imprint I left in this industry becomes something we can all be proud of.”
A current Blizzard employee, Josh “Dvolol” Allen, Calling Morhaime’s statement “100% nonsense”, claiming that the former executive knew what was going on inside the company.
“‘If I knew this was happening, I would stop it’ said the person who was repeatedly told that it was happening and did nothing to stop it
“I did not comment on Actiblizz’s situation because, frankly, you should listen to the opinions of more important people now. But a former leader’s remarks were 100% nonsense, and I was very angry about it.
“He knows. He didn’t do anything. Don’t get me wrong, the current leadership is also terrible now. But please don’t believe that the culture that allowed all this to happen in the past few decades is the responsibility of the person responsible for 3 years. Established in this way.”
A former female employee He also publicly opposed Morhaime’s statement and sent him an email in 2018 concerning a male employee who was promoted despite showing “seriously bad behavior.” She said in an email that someone like the unnamed employee would eventually “make the company pay money and lose its good reputation.”
“As long as those in power take predatory behavior against women in the company, women will not be able to feel truly comfortable, valuable or safe, and it will become increasingly difficult for companies to attract and retain talent. Women who love games.”
In stark contrast to the statements made by the current and former presidents of Blizzard, Fran Townsend, executive vice president of corporate affairs at Activision Blizzard, has been with the company for four months. He is a former homeland security adviser to George W. Bush. Sent an email This can only be described as being dismissive and a little defensive.
According to the statement in Townsend’s email, the lawsuit presents a “distorted and untrue picture” of the company, accuses it of “actually incorrect”, outdated, and tells “out-of-context stories,” she said. Years ago.”
She stated that the company takes a “tough approach” to inappropriate or hostile working environments and carries the company’s “talking-free” activities to “reinforce” the company’s “zero tolerance for retaliation against those who speak freely.”
“We work in a company that really values equality and fairness,” the email read. “Please rest assured that the leadership is committed to continuing to maintain a safe, fair and inclusive workplace.
“We cannot allow the bad behavior of others, and a truly worthless and irresponsible lawsuit, to damage our culture of respect for all employees and equal opportunities. We are eager to do great things in our communities: in our games, Our impact on society and our work environment. We continue to adhere to our principles and invest resources as in the past to ensure that all employees are provided with quality opportunities.
“As a leadership team, we are still committed to doing the right thing.”
Considering that the lawsuit was only recently filed, Activision Blizzard may take some time to appear in court. Until then, we can only speculate that the company’s situation will get worse before it gets better, and if the scandal involving Ubisoft last year is any sign of future development, then some minds will come back.
