Campaign to halt negative story on Bobby Kotick allegedly involved Activision Blizzard staff
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Meta (née Facebook) chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg allegedly pressured U.K. news outlet The Daily Mail to not publish reporting about a restraining order filed against Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick by an ex-girlfriend.
Why was Sandberg jumping into reporting about Kotick in the first place? According to the Journal, it's because the pair dated from 2016 to 2019, and concerns apparently arose that such a story could damage Sandberg's reputation as an advocate for women in the workplace. In those respective years, Sandberg allegedly contacted the Mail through different representatives to request it cease two separate attempts to publish this report on Kotick.
This specific story takes a number of bizarre turns, indicating that both Sandberg and Kotick may have used company resources in their bid to stop the story from going live. The Journal reports that "a team that included Facebook and Activision employees as well as paid outside advisers" were part of this effort, and that Kotick helped strategize this process with Sandberg.
The story of Kotick's ex-girlfriend filing a restraining order is a strange one. She initially filed the order in 2014 after calling the police on Kotick for "trying to get into her home." The temporary order was rescinded at the request of both parties on April 17, 2014. This had followed the ex-girlfriend breaking up with Kotick for his "bullying and controlling nature."
Details about this restraining order do need to be taken with a grain of salt. Sources speaking to The Wall Street Journal said that Kotick's ex-girlfriend would later tell friends that some of her allegations against him were "either exaggerated or untrue." Kotick told The
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