Bobby Kotick Claims Activision Blizzard Harassment Lawsuits Were "Fake"

Bobby Kotick, former Activision Blizzard CEO, recently dropped some seriously contentious claims on the Grit podcast about those major "sexual and workplace harassment lawsuits" we all remember from 2021.

He's basically calling them "fake lawsuits."

So here's the bombshell: Kotick claims the Communication Workers of America (CWA) union orchestrated the whole thing as part of some "membership drive." He says they targeted various tech companies, including Google and Tesla, before setting their sights on Activision Blizzard.

He's even dismissing that employee petition where about 1,300 Activision Blizzard staff called for his removal as CEO. Just flat-out called it "fake" without explaining what was supposedly false about it.

Quick refresher: Back in 2021, the DFEH (California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing) described Activision Blizzard as a "breeding ground for harassment and discrimination against women." Pretty serious stuff that rocked the gaming industry.

Here's where it gets interesting - Kotick claims the union somehow convinced government agencies (EEOC and DFEH) to file these "fake lawsuits" about workplace issues that he says "weren't true."

Something doesn't add up though - Activision Blizzard ended up paying some very real money to settle these supposedly "fake" cases:

• $18M to the EEOC settlement fund

• $54.8M for the DFEH lawsuit

• $35M to settle SEC charges

Kotick's defense? He says when he heard about inappropriate conduct, he "just fired people, like on the spot." He maintains they had a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination and misconduct.

The timing of these statements is particularly interesting, coming almost a year after Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard and Kotick's departure from the company.

It's worth noting that while Activision Blizzard did state "no court proved" claims of widespread abuse, they still agreed to these massive settlements and implemented workplace reforms.

Kotick's stance seems to minimize the experiences shared by numerous employees during that period. The sheer number of people who came forward and the multiple government agencies involved make his "fake lawsuit" narrative pretty hard to swallow.

Many questioning why a company would pay over $100M in settlements for "fake" lawsuits.

What do you think - is this an attempt to rewrite history, or is there more to the story?