A former Naughty Dog employee, empowered by the strength of others from the TV and film industry who experienced the same thing, has come forward as a sexual harassment victim.
Naughty Dog, the developer of video game franchises such as Uncharted and The Last of Us, has responded to the former employee's claims, further widening the spotlight on a shockingly widespread issue.
Former Naughty Dog Employee Fired For Reporting Sexual Harassment
In a series of tweets, former Naughty Dog designer David Ballard detailed his encounter with sexual harassment in his previous company and the unfortunate series of events that happened after it. Ballard worked on several games for the developer, including Uncharted 2 to 4 and The Last of Us.
According to Ballard, he was sexually harassed by a lead while working at Naughty Dog, and it led to an "extremely toxic work environment." He said that he suffered a mental breakdown at work in February 2016, and when he told the human resources department of Naughty Dog parent company Sony Interactive Entertainment, he was fired the very next day.
The HR department told Ballard that his job was no longer needed, and offered him $20,000 if he would sign an agreement to not divulge the details of his termination. Ballard, who refused to sign, has now been out of work for 17 months, and when he was interviewed on the circumstances of his departure from Naughty Dog, he has been ashamed to say that he was sexually harassed, instead saying that he simply burned out.
"I'm speaking out now because of the strength I've seen in others coming forward about their experiences in the TV/Film industry," Ballard said, referencing the sexual harassment victims of Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein who have broken their silence. He ended his tweets by saying that coming forward as a sexual harassment victim is the hardest thing that he has ever done, but Ballard will not let anyone kill his drive or love for video games.
Sexual Harassment At The Forefront
Naughty Dog has responded to Ballard's statement through a blog post, saying that it has not found any evidence that the company received allegations from their former employee involving sexual harassment.
Naughty Dog said that it has and will always take reports involving sexual harassment very seriously, adding that it is of utmost importance to the company that it is able maintain a safe and productive environment for its employees.
It is unclear what happened here, but whatever the case may be, the silver lining is that Ballard and hopefully more victims of sexual harassment are being inspired to come forward and bring the issue to the forefront.
