Frances Townsend has given up her position as executive sponsor of Activision Blizzard’s Women’s Network. This comes after she faced criticism over an internal email written to employees after the state of California filed a lawsuit against the company.
The email in question sent by Townsend said that the “recently filed lawsuit presented a distorted and untrue picture of our company, including factually inaccurate, old, and out of context stories – some from more than a decade ago.”
According to The Washington Post, Townsend stepped down from the position on July 23, following a Zoom call that was held after she sent out the email. The purpose of the call was to listen to the grievances of the women working at the company.
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“On the call, she defended her email, saying she had followed legal counsel’s guidance on language, and that the end result no longer sounded much like her voice, according to two current employees,” said the report. “The call, held July 23, reached the maximum number of participants — 500 — and for those who could not attend, management said it would share a recording afterward. Five days later, Blizzard women received an update that the company was ‘unable to send/share a recording of the Friday Women’s Network call at this time’ and that it was not appropriate to share personal concerns voiced by employees.”
This isn’t the only time Townsend has come under fire. Last week, she was criticised for tweeting an article with the caption, “the problem with whistleblowing” which was interpreted by many as a remark about the ongoing investigation at Activision Blizzard and the employees who spoke out against the management’s behaviour.
Townsend also allegedly started blocking accounts that called her out, including those of Activision Blizzard employees. Jason Schreier claimed that multiple employees from Activision Blizzard reported being blocked by Townsend after criticizing her tweet.
The ongoing situation at Activision Blizzard has resulted in a number of sponsors pulling out of the Overwatch League. Pringles and Cheez-It Grooves have completely dissociated from the league, while Coca-Cola and State Farm are “reassessing” their partnership.
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