Riot Games Director Sued For Sexual Harassment

Riot games again became a defendant in a judicial showdown. A former assistant to the company’s CEO is suing him. Sharon O’Donnell accuses Nicolo Laurent of prolonged sexual harassment and gender discrimination.

According to O’Donnell, her boss constantly demanded that she be “more feminine”, discussed the size of her underwear and offered to “do it” at his house while his wife was away. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Laurent advised women to use isolation to give birth to children – it supposedly helps with stress.

The girl claims that her resistance to Laurent’s harassment was punishable: she was not paid overtime and was deprived of her lunch break. She also connects her own dismissal with intractability. However, management at Riot Games denies this, claiming that the decision to fire was prompted by numerous documented complaints.

This is not the first accusation of sexism and harassment in the ranks of Riot Games. In November 2018, two women filed a similar lawsuit. Six months later, 150 employees of the company took to the streets to protest discrimination and sexism. The process was supposed to end with an amicable agreement, but it was withdrawn.

Riot Games announced that it has outsourced the investigation of the allegations to a third-party law firm. Nicolo Laurent is still working.

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