According to a report on Dot Esports, Alienware, Dell’s proprietary high-performance gaming PC brand, severed ties with Riot Games because of the ongoing sexual harassment and other public relations issues of Riot CEO Nicolo Laurent.
The deal, originally scheduled to end in January 2022, appears to have closed early amid concerns about Riot’s public image. Earlier this year, Laurent was sued by his former executive assistant for sexual harassment. In 2019, Riot opened a gender discrimination process for $ 10 million dollars and in 2018, Kotaku reported at Riot’s toxic and sexist work culture.
Alienware previously sponsored all League of Legends global electronic sports broadcasts, including the world tournament. Riot has since removed the Alienware brand.
In a statement to Dot Esports, Riot said that negotiations with Alienware were underway.
“We are unable to comment on our agreement with them at this time due to confidentiality obligations,” says the statement “As we continue discussions with them, we remove their brand from our broadcasts.”
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Kotaku contacted Riot and Alienware for comment.