Nicolo Laurent, the CEO of Riot Games, is under investigation over allegations of gender discrimination and sexual harassment, said a spokesman for Riot Games The Verge today. The investigation was announced after a lawsuit was filed against the Valorant developer.
Due to Laurent’s importance in the company, a special committee of the studio’s Board of Directors will oversee the investigation, which a third-party law firm is currently conducting. A spokesman for Riot Games said The Verge that the company “is taking all allegations of harassment or discrimination very seriously, thoroughly investigating complaints and taking action against anyone who has violated our policies”
According to the lawsuit filed in early January, Sharon O’Donnell is a former executive assistant at Riot Games who joined the studio in 2017, but says her job was “unfairly closed” in July 2020.
O’Donnell claims that Laurent has made sexual advances towards him. Shortly after she filed a complaint about Laurent’s sexual advances to the company’s HR department, O’Donnell’s job was terminated. She believes that her dismissal was directly related to the refusal of the CEO’s alleged advances.
Other allegations against Laurent include an incident in which he told several employees that the best way to deal with COVID-19-related stress was to “have children”.
Riot Games finds controversy surrounding its workplace culture, which was first brought to light in 2018 after an investigation Kotaku. In recent years, the company has faced several legal challenges posed by former employees.