California sues Activision Blizzard on charges of bullying and sexual harassment

The state of California recently completed a two-year investigation into Activision Blizzard. Based on that investigation, they are now suing the game giant over allegations of bullying and sexual harassment, Bloomberg Law reports.

Women make up 20% of Activision Blizzard’s workforce. And the lawsuit claims that these female employees have suffered various types of discrimination. This included bullying, sexual harassment, retaliation and unequal pay compared to male colleagues.

Some of the allegations mentioned in the lawsuit are disturbing to read. For example, an employee would have passed photos of herself naked around the company at a party. She later committed suicide during a business trip she took with her male supervisor and the lawsuit suggests it was the result of the intense sexual harassment she suffered previously.

Other specific allegations involve former World of Warcraft Senior Creative Director Alex Afrasiabi. The lawsuit claims that he engaged in “overt sexual harassment with little or no repercussions” and his behavior included his attempting to kiss, grope and degrade employees. The lawsuit claims that his bad behavior towards women was such an open secret that his suite when he traveled for business events was named after Bill Cosby!

Beyond very specific allegations like that, the lawsuit paints a more general culture than a gaming studio that’s run more like a college fraternity. The male employees allegedly “would have made fun of their sexual encounters, would have spoken openly about female bodies and joked about the rape.” Other times, male employees got drunk at work “delegating their responsibilities to female employees.”

The lawsuit arose because California ruled that Activision Blizzard’s leadership failed to stop harassment, bullying and retaliation against female employees. Now, the state is seeking an injunction against the studio to force Activision Blizzard to abide by statutory workplace protections. Additionally, the lawsuit seeks to address problems with unpaid wages, lost wages, arrears, wage adjustments and benefits for female employees who have been affected by discriminatory behavior.

Activision Blizzard responded to these allegations with a statement. Their statement states that the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing report “includes biased and in many cases false descriptions of Blizzard’s past. We have been extremely cooperative with the DFEH throughout their investigation, including providing them with extensive data and extensive documentation, but they have refused to inform us of the problems they have perceived. “

However, gamers are understandably skeptical. Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier tweeted that the legal allegations are in line with some of the things he has heard about the company over the years.

Additionally, Activision Blizzard fired 800 employees in 2019 on the same day they bragged about breaking previous revenue records. And in 2020, many remaining employees complained about the wage gap.