Sony has responded to a lawsuit brought against it by ex-Bungie employee Christopher Barrett, whose employment was terminated by the Destiny 2 developer last year following allegations of misconduct.
Barrett brought the suit against Sony in December, alleging that the company, which is Bungie's parent, engaged in a "sham" investigation in order to support its termination of his contract.
However, as spotted by Stephen Totilo of Game File, Sony has now filed a response, and the 128-page document contains evidence that Sony says reveals Barrett's "pattern of misconduct" with regard to his communications with female employees.
As you can probably imagine, the document is extremely extensive and exhaustive. It contains answers to many of Barrett's claims in his own suit, but most explosively, it includes several exchanges Sony says are evidence of Barrett's attitude towards female employees.
The exchanges include Barrett allegedly telling a female employee she was "hot" and asking her what she thought her best and worst physical features were, as well as telling another employee he would "hit on [her]" if she wasn't being treated well by her boyfriend.
He asked the same employee what "the steps one would have to take" to date her were, asking "what's the strategy guide". To another victim, he said he didn't want her boyfriend to "get the right idea" about the messages he was sending her.
There are several more text exchanges like these, and if they are indeed legitimate, then I think they're pretty damning with regards to Sony's motive for firing Barrett.
Sony goes on to say that Barrett's "predatory behavior" caused his victims to "seek guidance" from other employees on how to manage his "constant boundary-pushing".
Victims reported to HR that they were "afraid for their jobs during" the encounters with Barrett, but Sony says these employees were "placed...in a vulnerable position" in which they "felt compelled to engage with" Barrett in order to maintain "good standing".
In Barrett's original suit, he says he was a "scapegoat" for Sony and Bungie and that he was "falsely" accused of sexual misconduct, which Sony says is "outrageous considering the evidence". The company says the evidence provided in the document "will demonstrate his termination...was justified".
We'll have to wait and see where this lawsuit goes next; none of this represents a definitive conclusion, of course, and Barrett will doubtless have responses prepared for Sony in due course. Stay tuned for more.
