Activision Blizzard California Lawsuit Mike Morhaime

Ex-Blizzard Boss Says He is “Extremely Sorry” and “Believes” Sexual Harassment Allegations

Activision Blizzard is going through a rough time at the moment since the most recent lawsuit regarding years of sexual abuse and harassment came to light. Last week, we reported on the ongoing lawsuit that has accused Activision of multiple sexual abuse allegations in a so-called “frat boy” workplace.

Some of these allegations refer to direct sexual assault against female employees, unfair wages and there is even a note about an unfortunate suicide that took place due to all of this.

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Former Blizzard co-founder and CEO, Mike Morhaime has now publically apologised for the lawsuit. This being after Activision released a statement claiming that the case was not true and represented a company they have since changed. Mike Morhaime was at Blizzard for 28 years where he supposedly worked on building the company as free and welcoming as possible.

In a statement, Morhaime says that he is ashamed and finds the case difficult to read. He says that he believes all the stories and is sorry he let the staff down. The full statement reads:

I have read the full complaint against Activision Blizzard and many of the other stories. It is all very disturbing and difficult to read. I am ashamed. It feels like everything I thought I stood for has been washed away. What’s worse but even more important, real people have been harmed, and some women had terrible experiences.

I was at Blizzard for 28 years. During that time, I tried very hard to create an environment that was safe and welcoming for people of all genders and backgrounds. I knew that it was not perfect, but clearly we were far from that goal. The fact that so many women were mistreated and were not supported means we let them down. In addition, we did not succeed in making it feel safe for people to tell their truth. It is no consolation that other companies have faced similar challenges. I wanted us to be different, better.

Harassment and discrimination exist. They are prevalent in our industry. It is the responsibility of leadership to keep all employees feeling safe, supported, and treated equitably, regardless of gender and background. It is the responsibility of leadership to stamp out toxicity and harassment in any form, across all levels of the company. To the Blizzard women who experienced any of these things, I am extremely sorry that I failed you.

I realize that these are just words, but I wanted to acknowledge the women who had awful experiences. I hear you, I believe you, and I am so sorry to have let you down. I want to hear your stories, if you are willing to share them. As a leader in our industry, I can and will use my influence to help drive positive change and to combat misogyny, discrimination, and harassment wherever I can.

I believe we can do better, and I believe the gaming industry can be a place where women and minorities are welcomed, included, supported, recognized, rewarded, and ultimately unimpeded from the opportunity to make the types of contributions that all of us join this industry to make. I want the mark I leave on this industry to be something that we can all be proud of.

At the moment we don’t know what is going to come out of this lawsuit. You can catch up on the full report here.

Source: Twitter

Marco is the owner and founder of GLITCHED. South Africa’s largest gaming and pop culture website. GLITCHED quickly established itself with tech and gaming enthusiasts with on-point opinions, quick coverage of breaking events and unbiased reviews across its website, social platforms, and YouTube channel.

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