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California sues Activision/Blizzard for employment discrimination because of sex, retaliation, discrimination & harassment, unequal pay
- Thread starter Seri
- Start date
- News Activision/Blizzard
Ok but I'm not sure if you are a man, but why are you lol this? Some law will erase personal accountability?
lol you're so transparent
this is about Blizzard's work environment as a whole rewarding abusers and punishing victims, it doesn't matter if not all of the employees act like this if the workplace environment encourages toxic masculinity and abusive behavior
Can we not platform trash that is covering this in bad faith here?
I wouldn't post that guy
WoW/FFXIV streamer Asmongold has a recent history of using ableist slurs and defending the use of racial slurs Video/Streaming
7/23 UPDATE: As pointed out later in this thread, this video is from just last week. In it, he claims that women who are bothered by the oversexualization of female characters in video games are just "ugly and insecure" and that men are actually more oversexualized in video games that women...www.resetera.com
not going to tell you what to do, but congratulations on at least landing the interview and I think if you do well and get an offer you could at least hopefully contribute towards positive change. Maybe wishful thinking :\
She does mention that she had not worked for Act-Bliz and given the employment info she has given out on twitter (unless there are more) it could be at one or more of these places: EA, Mythic, GameSpot, Acclaim
I hope admin are having a serious conversation about how to handle Activision Blizzard games on Era going forward. I wish the community could be a part of that discussion and decision-making. I already messaged an admin but have gotten no response. I just hope that conversation is happening.
It often doesn't go to the devs, however, it gives significant job security when the company succeeds, but the problem then lies with the frustration tied to working with a company that is caught in a scandal like this. They can't just up and quit because that's more damaging.
We as consumers do not have the ability to apply justice fairly. The best we can do is to vote with our wallets in ways to affect change.
The women abused and harassed did not get this opportunity to find fair justice from ActiBlizz themselves, as thoroughly documented in the report. We as consumers need to care about ActiBlizz employees financial state more than the company itself? It's clear they don't give a shit as seen from their bonus and salary schemes for lower ranked employees (i.e.: Blizzard bucks, low pay, stagnant environment, etc.). And it's abundantly clear they don't give a shit about systemic sexist and racist issues. If internally they won't do anything, then externally pressure needs to be applied. It's clear the systems in place at ActiBlizz are broken, whether people are specifically conducting the abuse, or people are letting it slide.
As consumers we can show that this is enough. This is how we can protest.
The state would not be bringing up these charges if they were not a slam dunk. No matter what Activision's PR trying to downplay that a bunch of these accusations are false. Seriously fuck Activision/Blizzard.
That's what I just did. I cancelled my wow sub and I ninstalled wow retail, classic, and overwatch along with the launcher.
One of my friends thinks I'm being dumb and says that I might as well also get rid of my electronics due to Chinese labor standards. While he kind of has a point, it's a lot easier to live without a wow sub than a cell phone.
Unlikely to kill off the company. Criminal prosecution depends on what sort of behavior they unearth during discovery, assuming normal discovery rules apply but it is unlikely based on this lawsuit.
So what are the odds Blizzard does literally anything at all before the actual court battle? Suspensions, firings, new investigations into the allegations that have come out, etc etc
Going by their statement it sounds like they plan on doing nothing.
Going by their statement it sounds like they plan on doing nothing.
he spent like an hour teeing off on his chat, telling them you don't need to devil's advocate for these people, them getting run out of the industry isn't a loss, etc etc
he's a very specific type of libertarian centrist weirdo and that lends itself to him espousing some awful takes and will always do so... but he's coming down largely on the right note here and it's still relieving to see an audience of 100k people being told by their favorite streamer, no, these women are not lying, they have no reason to lie, they gain nothing by coming out and saying this, these are real court documents, etc etc.
I can't tell you truly. Some of it is just ingrained at this point.
Iv never reported anything that has happened to me. Cause I feel embarrassed and it's not like I have any proof.
Co worker of mine was stalked by still a current employee. Since it was considered an out of work incident he wasn't fired. What they did was just move HER into a different area.
It's stuff like this that's exhausting.
That might happen in other companies but not in Activision.
Activision Blizzard cuts hundreds of jobs despite ‘record revenue’ year
800 affected amid company-wide restructuring
www.polygon.com
These aren't criminal complaints, but civil ones. They're looking at some massive fines at this point. It would require further discovery to determine if something definitively criminal needs to be investigated, and some of the stuff in the complaint sound potentially beyond that line.
I believe they could be told that these allegations are so serious that without immediate relief, they may lose the ability to operate in the state of California.
The things enumerated in that complaint are just absolutely heinous.
they're arrogant enough to do absolutely nothing unless forced to
A number of Hearthstone Streamers and Influencers that were going to reveal cards for the upcoming United in Stormwind expansion decided to cancel their reveals today to bring attention to this news story.
Well, lets be honest here. There's no realistic way this whole thing doesn't lead to shareholders making phones calls probably all day asking what the fuck. I don't see J. Allen Brack(not sure I spelled that right) staying with the company, and that's his fault. What the company ends up doing as a whole is hard to say/I doubt we'll ever fully know about it. We can only hope Blizzard becomes a better place to work going forward, not worse.
I constantly see this "the money doesn't go to the developers" thing parroted on Era but yeah, it's not true. A game being commercially successful or not can often have a direct impact on developer salaries, career paths, bonuses etc.
Even if it's disproportionate compared to what the most senior me, the economics aren't so black and white. It will obviously vary from developer to developer, publisher to publisher, but I can even think of very recent examples where the success of a game I've been working on has resulted in more financial security me, my colleagues and the studio as a whole.
That said I think people should absolutely vote with their wallet if they want to. I still don't believe boycotts work, but that's your power as a consumer so use it and frankly, thats the only thing they can really do.
Era can't do much here, and the burden shouldn't be on them. It's really up to those of us who work in the industry to fix these issues from the inside, especially because, as you say, just walking away isn't even viable for a lot of us. Especially in this climate.
Doubtful much will be done at all. They'll probably insulate and go defensive.
If anything, this whole story is a prime example of the phrase that HR is there to protect the company. And not you. I've lived through that lesson myself unfortunately.
I expect things to get quiet for a while a few weeks out from now, as the tide of daily events drowns this out until the trial happens and we learn more details.
I don't expect anything to really happen until the trial begins and the truly horrifying stuff beyond what we have heard already gets exposed to the light.
Their response statement sounds like "Hey, we've already 'fixed' all that stuff..."
I'm guessing drag out the case in court, then settle with the state.
This. The dude is an asshole and can be really toxic, but he is the biggest streamer for WoW. Consistently 40k-50k viewers everyday giving Blizzard free publicity because he loves the game. And he spent 3 hours completely trashing them and the people defending them. Not just trashing them either, but actually explaining to them why they were wrong. Calling out the chuds in chat that were trying to pull the "innocent until proven guilty" stuff.
What he did this morning by covering everything in detail in front of an audience of 100k gamers was exactly what was needed to bring this problem home to the kind of people who can make a huge difference to Blizzard's business. Regardless of how any of us feel about him as a streamer or a person that is a good thing and it needed to happen. People like Asmongold, Bellular, Tali, Preach, Hazel, etc etc are the ones that will make this problem front and center to the players and possibly lead to more damage to Blizzard because the players are the ones that can hurt Blizzard the most. Not CNN or the other news outlets picking up the story.
Activision's response is just completely morally bankrupt. As if literally written by the devil's advocate. It's kind of surprising in how condemnable it is. Usually there's some PR bullshit about taking some kind of action, but this response dismisses what the investigation found, how Activision has wronged its employees, is instead purely an attack on those who dare threaten Activision. Hope Activision gets raked over the coals and burned to the ground.
I'd say I'll boycott their games, but that'd be a lie since I never really buy any of them anyway.
I'd say I'll boycott their games, but that'd be a lie since I never really buy any of them anyway.
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It's hard to see your live blogging of his stream over several hours and the amount of energy you've spent defending it as anything other than promoting this dude. If it was just a couple of off-hand comments, then OK, but it hasn't been. You bring up the other content creators but this is the one you chose to spend your day with. We get the point. In my opinion we didn't need any space on here promoting the streamer, and at this point, we certainly don't need any more.
Yeah the trial is gonna be nuts. If this is in the documents we already have I can't imagine what all is gonna see the light of day when the trial happens.
I'm afraid this is what is going to happen. Small fine for the billion dollar company and then life goes on.
I really hope I am wrong though. I wanna see the whole thing turned upside down and shaken out.
"he's an asshole, but"
He's a bigot, stop sugar coating it. He's literally responsible for the way the people in his chat are acting and I don't for a second believe he's doing this out of being a good person. You don't get to cultivate this kind of toxic gamer mentality and then turn around and act like he's not part of the problem.
They will lose their jobs anyways next time Activision-Blizzard has record revenue but the executive body wants another bonus.
Activision Blizzard cuts hundreds of jobs despite ‘record revenue’ year
800 affected amid company-wide restructuring
www.polygon.com
I spent the day with him because none of those others were streaming it at the time or had videos out at the time. Bellular is primarily a podcaster and YouTuber and as far as I know still has not released a video about it, but he will and it will get 100k+ views. Tali is in the UK and wasn't streaming until I was already about to get off Twitch and I haven't been able to watch his past broadcast yet. Hazel hasn't streamed at all today. Preach covered it on his stream and I commented on that as well because I brought up the fact that he was due to do a Warcraft charity stream today of all days with ECHO. I also tried posting the Alanah Pierce video, but was beaten to it and had to edit my post. So I am waiting to see this from many sources and angles as soon as I can, but the content just isn't there yet. But when it is I plan on watching it and if it's a good enough take to post here I will do that too.
Also I don't really see how I am promoting him when I have repeatedly said that his an asshole and can be really toxic. Does that sound like a ringing endorsement? I only followed along and commented as he went because he made some really good points and because so many other people were watching. It's not everyday you see the biggest content creator for a game actively shit all over it and a portion of his community at the same time.
Me saying that it was good that he (as in the biggest WoW streamer) trashed them in front of 100k people and that I think he made good points is not the same as me saying that Asmongold himself is good or that his content is good. I have come to realize just how bad he is in recent weeks after his past stuff came floating up after the FFXIV stuff took off. I get it.
Ignorant question: Are states known to settle out of court if the defendent is willing to pony up?
I never said he wasn't part of the problem. I literally said he was toxic. I really wish you would stop acting like I am just sitting here telling everyone to go watch the guy and subscribe to him. I'm not. I never did. I said that the biggest streamer for their biggest game shredding them in front of 100k people is a good thing. Because it is. I said that he made good points. Because he did. That does not mean that I am just his biggest fan and that I think everyone should sub to him immediately. Saying someone is right =/= saying the person is good.
I'm done going in circles over this. I have made my position on him and what he did today very clear by now.
You are a brave and strong person. I pray you will be safe (you and your family, friend)
The demonic behavior creates trauma to an individual. Stalking or sexual harassing or harassing in general is not acceptable. Sad part is that this is the norm these days.
That spoiler is beyond disgusting. This company should be dismantled and they leaders should be arrested. I can't fanthom the the despair those women must have felt, this isn't and never was an acceptable behavior, even less on this day and age. It feels like we live in a fucking barbarism, is this how our civilization works? Fuck Activision, for real. This is fucking disgusting. I hope they all rot and die.
Absolutely. Getting money up front is always more desirable than a trial and appeals which will go on for years.
The thing is, from their statement alone you know Activision Blizzard know how bad their culture is. They just like it that way, want to believe they have done enough to "change" and seemingly resent victims' coming forward with their stories and a state agency looking into their toxic work culture. But even within their legalese PR statement, there is no denial. They are rotten as fuck and they know it.
I hope the state of California absolutely dismantles this company, with anyone culpable dragged away in chains.
I have a grain of salt that this may just be for PR brownie points, but its great statement overall.
It would be cool if we suddenly get a stream of big names and companies coming out and condemning all of this. Shame and pressure Blizzard into making a better statement and take better action.
It just keeps getting worse…. How did gaming even get here? Is it the result of going unchecked? Like what the actual fuck!?
Bungies always been pretty vocal so I'm not surprised they made a statement. Plus their former interactions with Activision.
It's actually a decent statement. This is the most real part of it.
If you compare videos and tweets from him before he had a relationship with Pink Sparkles, with videos and tweets after that relationship, there is a very noticeable switch in tone and stance.
I do believe she opened his eyes to several issues and especially to how he was wrong.
It's just "unprofessional" antics & Acti-Blizz has changed this year, yeah fuck right off.
Jesus Christ, who raised them to treat pregnant women this way.