Former Activision Blizzard boss Robert Kotick has dragged G/O Media to court for defaming him in news publications that accused him of nonexistent workplace misconduct. The former Activision boss said G/O Media published two articles on March 11, 2024, on Kotaku and Gizmodo that emphasized workplace misconduct without mentioning they had been dismissed.
Former Activision Blizzard boss Robert Kotick
“Neither article had anything to do with Activision,” Kotick said in the lawsuit as sighted in Courthouse News Service. “Both were about rumors that Kotick was interested in buying TikTok.
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“Yet, Kotaku and Gizmodo went out of their way to include withdrawn, false allegations relating to workplace issues which G/O Media knew had been conclusively disproven by numerous investigations … purely for the malicious purposes of causing further harm to Kotick.”
Activision Blizzard came under serious scrutiny under Robert Kotick’s leadership. In 2021, the California Civil Rights Department launched an investigation into the company for potential discrimination and workplace sexual harassment.
By December of 2023, Activision settled with the department for $54 million. According to the settlement signed by both parties, it was stated that “no court or any independent investigation has substantiated any allegations [of sexual harassment or that senior executives] ignored, condoned, or tolerated a culture of systemic harassment, retaliation or discrimination.”
It is important to also mention that under Robert Kotick, Activision Blizzard agreed to two federal settlements ($35 million with the Securities and Exchange Commission and $18 million with the Employment Opportunity Commission) over alleged workplace misconduct.
In the complaint filed by Robert Kotick, he alleged that he and his representatives made several efforts to get G/O Media to correct the article, including the removal of a headline that originally called Kotick a “disgraced” CEO.
Gizmodo eventually removed the word “disgraced” from the headline and both publications added details to the settlement with the California Civil Rights Department. However, Kotick is still not satisfied and claims the article continues to “mischaracterize” the agreement.
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