Activision Blizzard sued by another female worker for sexual assault

2022-10-10

Call of Duty video game maker Activision Blizzard is being sued by another female worker who claims ex-manager she used to have a relationship groped her and then threatened to release revenge porn against her when she rejected him

Activision Blizzard is a massive video game company with a massive sexual harassment problem,’ according to the suit Friday by an unnamed plaintiff
The suit alleges sexual battery, sexual harassment, gender discrimination, failure to prevent harassment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress
The unnamed staffer, referred to as Jane Doe, seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages against the company and ex-manager Miguel Vega
Doe met Vega in 2009 or 2010, before she worked at the company, and they formed a friendship in which she sent him ‘compromising photos’ of herself
While at work, Doe was repeatedly groped by Vega and he often attempted to kiss her, the suit further reveals. Vega left the company in September 2021
Her lawsuit demands include the removal of head exec Robert Kotick as CEO

‘Activision Blizzard is a massive video game company with a massive sexual harassment problem,’ according to the Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit brought Friday by the plaintiff, identified only as Jane Doe.

The suit alleges sexual battery, sexual harassment, failure to prevent harassment, gender discrimination and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Doe seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages against the company and former manager Miguel Vega, who quietly left the company in September.

An Activision Blizzard representative could not be immediately reached for comment.

It comes as the video game giant has been under the SEC’s gaze for nearly a year, following bombshell reports of the company’s toxic workplace environment with hundreds alleging incidents of harassment and discrimination.

Video game maker Activision Blizzard is being sued by another female employee complaining of sexual harassment in the workplace, this time by a plaintiff who alleges a then-manager threatened to commit revenge porn against her. Pictured are protesters at the company’s Irvine headquarters following more than 700 reported incidents under its current CEO

Doe seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages against the company and former Product Manager Miguel Vega, who left the company in September

The company’s open ‘frat boy atmosphere’ has fostered rampant sexism, harassment and discrimination with 700 reported incidents occurring under CEO Robert Kotick’s watch, according to the suit.

Her lawsuit demands include the removal of Kotick as CEO.

Doe met Vega in 2009 or 2010, before her work at Activision Blizzard, and they soon formed a virtual friendship in which she sent him ‘compromising photos’ of herself, a decision she now regrets, the suit states.

The relationship ended when Doe met her future husband in 2011, according to the suit.

Vega helped Doe get independent contractor work at Activision Blizzard in 2016 and the company later hired her for a community engagement coordinator for the Player Support Department in 2020, the suit states.

While at work, Doe was repeatedly groped by Vega and he often attempted to kiss her, the suit further reveals.

‘All of Mr. Vega’s sexual advances upon Ms. Doe were unwelcomed,’ the filing reads. ‘After each time she rejected him, he’d assure her that, “One day it’ll happen” or “One day you’ll give in,”‘ the suit states.

Vega also belittled and insulted Doe, telling her that her ideas were terrible and that she was failing ‘a job a monkey could do’ and that her opinions did not matter, the suit states.

‘He never missed an opportunity to make her feel small,’ according to the suit, which further states that Vega dismissed her as being too sensitive when she told him his comments were hurtful.

Vega, as recently as August 2021, made one of many threats to release Doe’s compromising photos, the suit alleges.

The video game giant has been under the SEC’s gaze for nearly a year following bombshell reports of the company’s toxic workplace environment with hundreds of allegations of harassment and discrimination

Activision Blizzard is the company behind popular games Call of Duty and Candy Crush. The company is currently in the process of a multibillion-dollar merger with Microsoft, which would make it part of the Xbox games division

‘Maybe I’ll blackmail you with those pictures I have to get you to leave your husband so you can come stay with me,’ Vega told Doe, according to her suit.

That same month, Doe reported Vega’s alleged revenge porn threat to management and Vega was fired the next month, the suit states. But Activision ratified Vega’s conduct by allegedly failing to take immediate and appropriate corrective action, the suit alleges.

Doe has suffered physical pain, mental suffering, humiliation and loss of enjoyment of life, the suit states.

Other sexual harassment suits also have been filed by women against Activision Blizzard, including one in March by another Jane Doe who alleges she suffered a backlash for complaining about sexual harassment and discrimination while working in the IT department.

The claims from the anonymous ex-staffer coincide with other accusations of sex assault and ‘frat house’ culture at the company’s Irvine, California headquarters.

Last year, the company agreed to pay $18million to settle a lawsuit filed by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of several anonymous accusers, following an investigation into claims it ignored their sexual harassment allegations.

The three-year investigation looked into workplace complaints of allegedly pervasive sexual harassment and discrimination at Activision Blizzard’s offices in Santa Monica, California, and also alleged that female employees were paid less than their male-counterparts.

A number of employees have spoken out in support of the claims, with more than 2,000 signing an open letter calling for the company to take action. Picture, protestors at a walkout last year in July

Employees of the video game company Activision Blizzard hold signs disparaging brass for the allegedly unsafe work environment at the video game giant at the walkout at its Irvine HQ

The games developer behind bestselling titles such as ‘Call of Duty’ and ‘World of Warcraft’, said it would set up the $18million ‘compensation fund’ to provide payouts to eligible claimants.

Last July, California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing sued the Fortune 500 company over what it called a ‘frat boy’ culture.

The agency at the time cited how women make up just 20 percent of the company’s nearly 10,000-strong workforce, and get less money, fewer promotions, are fired more often than their male coworker – and, most importantly, suffer from ‘constant sexual harassment.’

‘Male employees proudly come into work hungover, play video games for long periods of time during work while delegating their responsibilities to female employees, engage in banter about their sexual encounters, talk openly about female bodies, and joke about rape,’ the lawsuit stated.

The suit named Blizzard President J. Allen Brack, who stepped down in August, and longtime World of Warcraft developer Alex Afrasiabi, who also quietly left the company last year.

Kotick was in a years-long relationship with Facebook COO and former Clinton aide Sherly Sandberg until 2019. The credibility of the pair came into question shortly before their split, when it was reported that Sandberg took an active role in suppressing stories about a restraining order a woman hit Kotick with, in both 2016 and 2019

It alleged that Afrasiabi had a so-called ‘Cosby Suite’ at a hotel during corporate events, where fellow staffers at times had to ‘pull him off female employees.’

‘During a company event (an annual convention called Blizz Con [sic]) Afrasiabi would hit on female employees, telling him [sic] he wanted to marry them, attempting to kiss them, and putting his arms around them,’ the complaint reads.

‘This was in plain view of other male employees, including supervisors, who had to intervene and pull him off female employees. Afrasiabi was so known to engage in harassment of females that his suite was nicknamed the ”Crosby Suite” [sic] after alleged rapist Bill Crosby [sic].’

Remaining funds were donated to charities dedicated to supporting gender equality, women in the video game industry and victims of sexual harassment, and allegedly used to bolster Activision Blizzard’s own diversity and inclusion initiatives.

At the time, Activision Blizzard CEO Kotick said in regard to the scandals: ‘There is no place anywhere at our company for discrimination, harassment, or unequal treatment of any kind, and I am grateful to the employees who bravely shared their experiences.

‘I am sorry that anyone had to experience inappropriate conduct.’

Investigators again honed in on Kotick earlier this year after it was reported that Kotick and renowned stock trader and socialite Alexander von Furstenberg violated insider-trading laws when they met for breakfast in January ahead of Furstenberg’s decision to buy shares of the company with his father, IAC Chairman Barry Diller, and fellow media mogul David Geffen.

The three men bought shares at $40 each on January 14, days before Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard for $95 a share – netting the three men $59 million in profit.

Diller refuted the allegations, telling the Wall Street Journal that he and his associates knew nothing about the impending deal with Microsoft.

‘We had zero knowledge of that transaction and it belies credulity to think that if we did we would have proceeded,’ Diller said.

‘It’s equally unlikely to believe Mr. Kotick, a sophisticated professional, in a social breakfast with Mr. von Furstenberg and his wife would have told them of the pending transaction.’

Investigators again honed in on Kotick earlier this year after it was reported that Kotick and renowned stock trader Alexander von Furstenberg (left) violated insider-trading laws when they met for breakfast in January ahead of his decision to buy shares of the company with his father, IAC Chairman Barry Diller (right), ahead of the still ongoing Microsoft merger

Fellow media mogul David Geffen (above), Furstenberg and Diller all profited $59 million after Microsoft acquired Blizzard Activision days later for $68.7 billion, spurring a federal investigation into allegations of insider trading

The company has since said that it is cooperating with federal investigators probing the allegations.

Diller has served on the board of Coca-Cola with Kotick, whom he described as a ‘long time friend.’

Diller already has a net worth of $4.5 billion, while Geffen is worth about $10.3 billion and von Furstenburg is worth roughly $10.1 million.

A spokesperson for Activision said that Kotick, who was in a years-long relationship with Facebook COO Sherly Sandberg until 2019, was simply enjoying a social brunch with his friends on the day he met with Furstenberg.

‘He, of course, didn’t share any information with them regarding a possible transaction with Microsoft,’ the spokesperson said at the time.

Employees subsequently staged a mass walkout at the Irvine office to protest what they said was Activision’s culture of sexism and discrimination.

The credibility of both Kotick and Sandberg would come further into question that month, when the Journal reported that Sandberg took an active role in suppressing stories about her high-powered boyfriend in 2016 and 2019.

Those stories were prepared by DailyMail.com, and revolved around allegations that one of Kotick’s ex-girlfriends filed a restraining order against him, alleging that he had stalked and harassed her after their separation.

The Journal’s report sparked an internal investigation by Facebook into their senior staffer, who assumed the COO role in 2008 after serving in the Clinton administration. The social media company apparently worried that Sandberg’s actions would reflect negatively on her reputation as an advocate for women.

DailyMail.com elected to not publish the restraining order in 2016 and once again in 2019, shortly before the pair ended their relationship, after Kotick’s accuser largely recanted most of the issues raised in the filings.

However, regardless of the existence of the restraining order itself, which was never in contention, the alleged cover-up of attempting to dissuade a news source from running a story serves as a major ethical breach.

Sandberg has since been accused of leveraging Facebook’s role as a news aggregator to influence editorial decisions, though both Kotick and Meta denied that to DailyMail.com at the time.

Activision-Blizzard, meanwhile, is currently in the process of a multibillion-dollar merger with Microsoft, which would make it part of the Xbox games division.

In a recent court filing, Activision-Blizzard brass said the companies have not yet discussed Kotick’s role after the acquisition, which they cannot disclose while the process is ongoing.

Over the past year, the company has received about 700 reports of employee concerns over sexual assault or harassment or other misconduct, in some cases separate reports about the same incident, the WSJ reported.

Nearly 20 percent of Activision Blizzard’s 9,500 employees have signed a petition calling for Kotick to resign.

Vega, meanwhile, who worked at Activision for 13 years before suddenly leaving the company in September 2021, has yet to comment on the allegations. He currently works as a senior product manager at Canada-based video game software company Versus Systems, according to his LinkedIn profile.

He, like his old boss Kotick, currently resides in Los Angeles.

Blizzard-Activision has yet to comment on the allegations leveled in the most recent suit. The case is currently ongoing.

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