Well, damn. We saw this story floating around the other day with weak tabloid-esque sourcing, but now it’s been confirmed by the attorney: Yet another Activision-Blizzard employee is suing the company for harassment.
This new Jane Doe is one of eight (eight!) women represented by controversial celebrity attorney Lisa Bloom, each with separate lawsuits. This one names Activision-Blizzard manager Miguel Vega as the culprit and claims his victims had been complaining about sexual harassment from him for years, though he was fired only in 2021.
“Activision Blizzard’s failure to curb sexist and harassing conduct emboldened manager Miguel Vega to abuse, belittle and insult Ms. Doe by making comments to her about oral sex, masturbation and orgasms, threatening her job if she would not consent to sex, mocking her breasts, and commenting on other female employees’ attractiveness,” the lawsuit claims. “Mr. Vega also repeatedly threatened to expose a compromising photo of Ms. Doe.” Doe seeks damages, lost pay, and an end to ABK’s mandatory arbitration policies governing harassment and discrimination.
In a statement to Polygon, an ABK spokesperson said, “When the plaintiff reported her concerns, we immediately opened an investigation, and Mr. Vega was terminated within 10 days. We have no tolerance for this kind of misconduct.” The spokesperson also apparently continued to deny the allegations from the original California lawsuit.
Unfortunately, none of this is going to sound novel, as we’ve all been covering Activision-Blizzard’s sexual harassment and discrimination culture – from the bottom to the tippy-top of the company – and the lawsuits attempting to hold it accountable for the last year and a half.
We filed another sexual harassment lawsuit against Activision Blizzard on Friday.
We currently represent 8 women with sexual harassment claims against this company. If you or someone you know was a victim of its rampant frat boy culture, please contact me.https://t.co/utVJnmvTIv— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) October 11, 2022
While Activision continues to ignore workers who have raised concerns about the company’s toxic work environment and @ABetterABK's demands, another victim of sexual harassment at @ATVI_AB has come forward. This is why workers are demanding a voice on the job. Enough is enough. https://t.co/zNUedMsek9
— CODE-CWA (@CODE_CWA) October 13, 2022