SANTA MONICA, Calif. (KNX) — Bobby Kotick, the CEO of the Santa Monica-based videogame giant Activision Blizzard Inc. reportedly knew of allegations of workplace sexual misconduct going back as far as 2018, but failed to inform the board of those reports, including alleged rapes.
A lawyer representing a former female employee at an Activision-owned studio alleged in an email to Kotick three years ago that her client had been raped twice by a male supervisor in 2016 and 2017 after being coaxed into drinking too much alcohol at company events.
The employee said she reported the incidents to Activision’s human relations department, but nothing came of those reports. She was threatening to sue the company for its alleged inaction.
Within months of receiving the email, the company reached an out-of-court settlement with the former employee. But Kotick did not inform the company’s board of directors about the allegations or resulting settlement, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
Activision has been under investigation by authorities in recent months after multiple allegations of sexual assaults and mistreatment of female employees dating back years were reported. Kotick has told directors and other company executives he knew nothing of the allegations.
Those probes include a California Department of Fair Employment and Housing lawsuit alleging the company ignored numerous complaints by female employees of harassment, discrimiantion, and workplace retaliation.
Kotick has been subpoenaed in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into how Activision handled reports of sexual misconduct within its workforce. The CEO’s knowledge of the alleged incidents and what he told other employees may be part of that inquiry.
“Mr. Kotick would not have been informed of every report of misconduct at every Activision Blizzard company, nor would he reasonably be expected to have been updated on all personnel issues,” a spokesperson for the company told the Journal. She admitted that Activision “fell short of ensuring that all of our employees’ behavior was consistent with our values and our expectations.”
In July, employees of Activision Blizzard staged a walkout to protest the company’s handling of sexual harassment and discrimination claims.
Related
