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California governor accused of interfering in Activision Blizzard lawsuit

A California state lawyer has accused Governor Newsome of interfering in the ongoing case.

Donovan Erskine

April 13, 2022 10:15 AM

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As Activision Blizzard is embroiled in controversy and legal backlash, the situation surrounding one of the industry’s biggest companies continues to unfold. Activision Blizzard is currently in the middle of a discrimination lawsuit filed by the state of California, and that case has now taken an unexpected turn. A lawyer for the state of California has announced that she is resigning from her position, citing interference from governor Gavin Newsome as the reason.

The news of governor Newsome’s potential interference in the Activision Blizzard lawsuit comes from a Bloomberg report. Assistant chief counsel for California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing Melanie Proctor apparently sent an email to staff this week in which she shared the news that she would be resigning. She said that this is being done to protest the fact that her boss, Chief Counsel Janette Wipper, was wrongly fired by none other than California governor Gavin Newsome.

Procter stated that Newsome is interfering with the case in support of Activision Blizzard. “The Office of the Governor repeatedly demanded advance notice of litigation strategy and of next steps in the litigation,” she said in an email obtained by Bloomberg. “As we continued to win in state court, this interference increased, mimicking the interests of Activision’s counsel.”

Activision Blizzard and the state of California have both yet to release official statements on the reason behind Wipper’s firing and Proctor’s subsequent resignation.

We first learned that the state of California was looking to sue Activision Blizzard back in 2021 following the latest round of discrimination allegations against the video game company. It’s currently unclear what implications the two new departures will mean for the case. The situation surrounding Activision Blizzard is constantly evolving, and you can expect to read the latest updates here on Shacknews.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_