The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) says that popular game publishing studio Blizzard Entertainment and its parent company Activision Blizzard have created a culture of “ongoing sexual harassment” and gender discrimination, in a new lawsuit filed Tuesday that alleges that top executives were aware of or involved in the practices. And within hours of the lawsuit being filed, multiple women have already come forward to corroborate the allegations.
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The details are so disturbing that we'll start with a warning that you might find what you're about to read disturbing. Let's look at the allegations in the lawsuit:
Female employees almost universally confirmed that working for the defendants was similar to working in a home, where male employees can drink and sexually harass women without repercussions. The behavior of male employees in the offices was similar. Male employees would play video games during their work hours, chat about their sexual encounters, talk openly about women's bodies, and make numerous rape jokes.
As a product of this culture, women were subjected to a great deal of sexual comments and unwanted physical contact and other forms of harassment. One female employee noted that random male employees would approach her in the workplace and comment on her breasts. Female employees working on the World of Warcraft team noted that male employees and supervisors would tease them, make rape-inducing comments, or be generally offensive. This behavior was known to and even encouraged by supervisors, including one male supervisor who openly encouraged a male subordinate to “buy” a prostitute to make up for his bad mood.
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Activision Blizzard president J. Allen Brack is specifically named as knowing about and enabling this behavior. World of Warcraft senior creative director Alex Afrasiabi is also specifically named:
Alex Afrasiabi, the former Senior Creative Director of World of Warcraft at Blizzard Entertainment, engaged in blatant sexual harassment with little to no repercussions. During a company event, Afrasiabi attempted to approach female employees, telling them he wanted to marry them, attempting to kiss them and put his arms around them. This was reported to regulators, who intervened to resolve the issue. Afrasiabi was so notorious for harassing women that his suite was nicknamed the “Crosby Suite” after convicted rapist Bill Cosby.
Since the lawsuit was revealed, at least five former Blizzard employees have taken to social media to confirm that they were sexually harassed or witnessed it. We will not be incorporating their posts without permission, as we are concerned that they may also be targeted online.
Source of information: theverge.com
