Warning: this post discusses sexual harassment, possible abuse, and suicide.
In 2017, Kerri Moynihan committed suicide during an Activision Blizzard company retreat. What lead her to that suicide may have been sexual harassment at the company, including a relationship with her manager. According to a Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) lawsuit, Moynihan may have also been a victim of revenge porn. Their investigation revealed male employees passed around a nude photo of Moynihan during a holiday party. Now, Kerri Moynihan’s parents want justice for their daughter. They’re suing Activision Blizzard for their involvement in her death.
Harassment and a Mishandled Case?
The toxic environment at Activision Blizzard has become public knowledge. A DFEH lawsuit revealed Activision Blizzard’s dirty secrets, including a culture of misogyny and harassment. Perhaps one of the worst details of the report was about an employee’s suicide.
“In a tragic example of the harassment that Defendants allowed to fester in their offices, a female employee committed suicide while on a company trip due to a sexual relationship that she had been having with her male supervisor… Another employee confirmed that the deceased female employee may have been suffering from other sexual harassment at work prior to her death. Specifically, at a holiday party before her death, male co-workers passed around a picture of the deceased’s vagina.”
Kerri Moynihan was the victim of that harassment and a potentially abusive or controlling relationship that wasn’t permitted under company policy. It’s not known who leaked nude photos of Moynihan. However, according to the lawsuit brought by Kerri Moynihan’s parents, Moynihan’s manager, Greg Restituito, lied to police about a sexual relationship he had with the victim. The lawsuit also claims police didn’t investigate her death well. This is allegedly due to Activision Blizzard withholding both Moynihan and Restituito’s company phones and computers. Supposedly police did not question Restituito about a text he sent Moynihan before her death, and did not dust for fingerprints.
DFEH Lawsuit Reveals Situation
Moynihan was 32 when she took her own life, supposedly after, and possibly due to, harassment she faced at Activision Blizzard. Her parents weren’t even aware of the situation her daughter faced at work until after the DFEH lawsuit.
Moynihan’s parents’ lawsuit claims that Activision Blizzard’s actions, or, rather, their lack of action, was “a substantial factor in causing harm to Kerri, including, without limitation, humiliation, embarrassment, belittlement, sadness, discomfort, emotional distress, mental anguish, and pain and suffering, all to her detriment and damage, tragically culminating in Kerri’s death at the age of 32.”
Activision Blizzard continues to deny many of the accusations in the DFEH lawsuit, and says they will, “address the complaint through the legal process as appropriate.”
Sources:
- Nicole Carpenter, Polygon
- Lexi Lonas, The Hill
- Kyle Orland, Ars Technica