Summary
- Sony has responded to Christoper Barrett’s wrongful termination suit with examples of texts he’s alleged to have sent to junior female employees.
- Barrett’s lawyers claim Sony has “cherry-picked” texts without providing appropriate context.
- Sony is requesting that several aspects of Barrett’s suit be dismissed.
Christopher Barrett was terminated from his job at Bungie following a sexual misconduct investigation by parent company Sony. Barrett had been employed at Bungie for over 25 years and was directing Bungie’s upcoming extraction shooter Marathon at the time of his dismissal. In response, Barrett filed a wrongful termination lawsuit late last year, claiming that Sony dismissed him to avoid paying him a $45 million sum he was owed per his employment agreement with the company.
Sony has filed a response to Barrett’s lawsuit (available via Game File), saying “The investigation revealed that Barrett’s misconduct with each employee was consistent: he targeted a lower-level, female employee he wasn’t working with directly, initially engaged in friendly conversation, and progressively pushed boundaries with the employee by making subtle references to her physical appearance or expressing his interest in her romantically. Barrett attempted to create an unprofessional level of intimacy with his victims. He requested to follow personal Instagram accounts and would express anger to the women if they failed to respond to his messages. He would bring up inappropriate topics like their body, their relationships, his marriage, or his desire to date them. He would demand that they participate in sexually charged games of “Truth or Dare” and “Ask Me Anything.” He texted them at all hours of the day and night. He offered to buy them gifts. He often referenced his wealth and his ability to advance their careers.”
Sexual Misconduct in the Gaming Industry? Unthinkable
Sony’s filing also provided several alleged examples of Barrett’s inappropriate texts: “What do you think is your best and worst feature physically?” Barrett is alleged to have texted an individual referred to as Victim 1, before later texting her that she was “hot.” Another individual referred to as Victim 2 reportedly received texts from Barrett that read “What are the steps one would have to take [to date you?] What’s the strategy guide?” and “You want to be worshipped I think? Why are you against that actually happening?”
During a Microsoft Teams call, Barrett privately messaged “Victim 4” and asked “Are you still in PJs? Is it like a button top and bottoms? Sweat pants? Lululemons? The filing lists some of the other alleged incidents, which include drunk calling subordinates and asking personal questions.
Lawyers representing Barrett, in a statement to Game File, responded to these claims: “Sony continues to disingenuously cherry pick text messages and alleged conversations and make unsupported and conclusory statements to defame Christopher and justify terminating him to avoid paying him what he was owed under his employment agreements,” their statement reads. “It is telling that Sony does not include the full text messages as exhibits, or the full content of these conversations, and nothing in Sony’s response provides a legitimate legal or factual basis to terminate Christopher for cause.”
Sony is requesting the dismissal of several facets of Barrett’s lawsuit and is seeking compensation for its legal fees. The lawsuit will likely continue back and forth for some time as both parties seek a favourable judgement.
Barrett’s dismissal is just one part of an overarching tumultuous period at Bungie. Hundreds of employees were laid off from the company in August, and we’ve seen little of Marathon since its announcement, with reports that the sentiment around the game at Bungie is “not great.”
Bungie
- Date Founded
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May 1, 1991
- Parent Company
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Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Headquarters
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Chicago, Illinois, United States