Activision Blizzard executives are considering a possible countersuit against California regulators who claimed the gaming giant had a toxic “frat boy” workplace, but only dropped the lawsuit last week, On The Money reported.
The California Department of Civil Rights, which had been investigating the developer of “Call of Duty” and “Candy Crush” since 2021, dropped the explosive allegations on Friday.
“Neither the courts nor independent investigations have established systematic or widespread sexual harassment,” authorities acknowledged in court documents last week.
California’s stunning admissions say there is no evidence that “senior executives ignored, condoned, or condoned a culture of systemic harassment, retaliation, or discrimination,” and that neither Activision’s board of directors nor CEO Bobby Kotick responded to complaints of misconduct. He also admitted that he had not handled the matter inappropriately.
Nevertheless, Activision ended up paying a $54 million settlement to resolve the lawsuit ($47 million of which was earmarked for pay disparity claims).
This has angered some Activision executives, who are drafting defamation lawsuits against the company.
The agency’s former director, Janet Whipper, was fired by Gavin Newson a year after she sued Activision, accusing Tesla of “racial discrimination,” a claim that was also unsubstantiated, according to court documents. It turned out that there was no such thing.
Other Activision insiders want to simply put this chapter on the back burner, concerned that an appeal would be tantamount to returning to the belly of the beast, insiders said.
Accusations that women were “subjected to constant sexual harassment, including groping” and that management fostered a “sexist culture” were enough to wipe the company’s market capitalization by $20 billion in a few months. Ta.
The case helped spur Activision’s partnership with Microsoft, which won full regulatory approval earlier this year.
Microsoft reportedly pursued a $75 billion deal after seeing the Diablo maker’s stock price plummet.
An Activision spokesperson declined to comment.
Source: nypost.com
