An investigation by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has shown that Bobby Kick, CEO of Activision Blizzard has hidden for years sexual abuse within the company. The article points to several examples, over more than 15 years, where Kick has been involved in investigations of sexual abuse in favor of the defendant and has tried to silence victims through transfers, medications and agreements. Among the different stories that make up the piece highlights of 2006 in Kick sent a voice message to his personal assistant death threats, Mr. Kick quickly apologized 16 years ago by the obvious and hyperbole inappropriately, and is still repenting much exaggeration and tone in the message, says a representative of the company in the report. This incident was resolved through an agreement, equal to the lawsuit filed in 2007 by a stewardess one of the private jets of him, who accused Kick of not taking action after a sexual assault made by the pilot.
Some of the most striking allegations contained in Article occurred in studies like Trey arch Blizzard and Sledgehammer. In 2017 a woman accused the director of Trey arch, Dan Bunting, sexual abuse and, although the HR department decided to fire him after an investigation of two years, Kick overruled this decision, keeping Bunting at his post in exchange for received several therapy sessions. Blizzard, Mike Moraine, director of the study, sent several internal documents praising the work of Ben Kilgore, head of the technology division, to try that this was not fired, as required standards of the company, after several accusations sexual abuse and had lied repeatedly about a relationship with a junior employee. Among the various accusations produced within Sledgehammer include that of an employee who complained to a supervisor for rape after pressure her to drink alcohol in two events different work, and another worker who, in a similar situation, saw the accused was transferred to a different position within the company. The report notes that within the company there have been more than 500 similar charges.
If there are experiences in the workplace that make people feel uncomfortable we are now better able to respond to them, said Kick to WSJ. For the CEO, these incidents are exceptions and do not reflect the culture within the company. He has also promised to devote more time and effort to fix them in the future. However, the report makes clear that Kick has learned of these events for years and has hidden to investors.
The report also stops at the recent launch of Jen Oneal, co-director of Blizzard until November 3, which used the presentation of the quarterly financial report as a framework to announce her resignation three months after the rise of it. It is clear that the company has never prioritized its workers as it should, we read in an email sent by Oneal to the legal department of Activision. In the same email, Oneal reveals that she herself was a victim of sexual abuse and at that moment she was paid less than Mike Ibarra to occupy the same position: I have been tokenized, marginalized and discriminated against, she concludes.
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We are disappointed with the report of The Wall Street Journal, we read in a statement released by Activision Blizzard, it is a vague and misleading the company and our CEO image. Accusations of inappropriate behaviors mentioned were taken into account and resolved. The WSJ ignores the important changes we have implemented to create the workplace more inclusive and welcoming of the industry, and fails to reflect the efforts of the hundreds of employees who strive every day to achieve their-and ours-values. Following the publication of this statement a dozen employees at that time was in the company spontaneously decided to leave the building to protest. The group of workers ABetterABK has released its own statement demanding the immediate resignation of Kick.
This report has been made possible thanks to the lawsuit filed against the company by the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether Kick was required to inform investors about these incidents. All headlines related to the many demands facing the company can be found at this link.