Another anonymous Activision employee is suing the company over allegations of sexual harassment she faced from a former manager.
While a lot of attention is on Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the latter is still dealing with multiple , which began with the one filed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing last year.
Said suit accuses Activision Blizzard of fostering a ‘frat boy’ workplace culture and discriminatory practices. Earlier this year, an filed their own lawsuit over similar accusations.
More recently, another lawsuit was filed by a female employee, who has made allegations of sexual battery, sexual harassment, failure to prevent harassment, gender discrimination, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
What’s more, the anonymous employee (referred to only as Jane Doe) is seeking unspecified damages not just against Activision Blizzard, but also a former product manager, one Miguel Vega, who left the company in September 2021.
Apparently, Doe and Vega were friends before she joined the company as an employee. At one point, she sent ‘compromising photos’ of herself to him, an action she says she regrets.
The suit, as reported by the , states that Vega later assisted Doe with getting a job at Activision Blizzard in 2016. He allegedly repeatedly groped her during work hours, made unwarranted sexual advancements towards her, and was verbally abusive.
In August 2021, only one month after the California lawsuit was filed, it’s said he threatened to release the compromising photos she gave him, allegedly saying ‘Maybe I’ll blackmail you with those pictures I have to get you to leave your husband so you can come stay with me.’
While Doe says she reported this to management, it allegedly failed to take immediate action, with the suit claiming that Vega was fired the following month.
In addition, the suit calls for the . Many others, both within and outside of Activision Blizzard, have demanded he step down from his position, especially following claims that he was fully aware of instances of alleged sexual harassment and abuse.
There were initial suspicions that Kotick would be removed once Microsoft announced its plans to buy out Activision Blizzard. For the time being, though, he will remain in charge and , which is when the deal is expected to be finalised.
However, that’s not a guarantee either. The acquisition requires approval from multiple regulatory bodies. A couple have signed off on it already, but has raised concerns with it and is continuing to scrutinise it with a second investigation.
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