IGN has come under huge back-lash as an ex-female employee has come forward with a sexual harassment complaint and has also claimed it was not handled properly by the company’s HR team. IGN has now released two statements regarding the issue after staff refused to work until the company had done so.
There won’t be a Daily Fix today because a large group of IGN employees have refused to work until the company issues a statement/apology regarding what happened to Kallie Plagge.
— Alanah Pearce 🔜 GDC (@Charalanahzard) November 13, 2017
Recently, there is a high number of sexual harassment stories that have been circling the news and more people are coming forward. Kallie Plagge, a former IGN employee, took to Twitter to accuse former editor Vince Ingenito of sexually harassing her and another employee in 2016. The other employee has not been named and still currently works at IGN. The harassment complaint contains sexual comments and suggestive advances made towards the two females.
Kallie Plagge, who is now an associate editor at Gamespot, did not stay quiet during he employment but instead made a formal complaint to HR in June 2016 about the inappropriate behavior in the workplace. The claim was later put down as inappropriate flirtation by both parties and Kellie Plagge was forced to sign a document that stated that if anything like this happened again, she would be fired.
Kellie Plagge also stated that: “My boss told me not to be ‘uptight’ about being around Vince and stated on several occasions that he ‘just wanted this unpleasantness to be over’. HR insinuated to me that I used my body (specifically my chest) to provoke him. I was asked who I danced with at the IGN E3 party.”
She exclaimed after that the HR conduct was a major reason to why she left and that she could no longer stay quiet.
Vince Ingenito later spoke about his side of the story on Twitter. He started off the stream of tweets saying that he does not believe she is a liar but that also: “We were friends once, at least I thought. I considered her one of my only friends at IGN.”
He later went on to explain that once he found out he was making her uncomfortable he apologized and after the complaint was put in place he stayed away from her as best as he could, while only asking her work-related questions through emails and in person. He also put forward a few texts as evidence for his claims.
Reposting since I accidentally failed to remove some personal info from a third party. This is my apology to Kallie prior to any allegations, after I discovered she felt uncomfortable. I stand by it today. pic.twitter.com/XR8XRxcaOo
— Vincent Ingenito (@Vincogneato) November 11, 2017
IGN later put out a statement apologizing to the two females after the staff refused to work. A few hours ago, IGN updated the statement stating that:
“Many of IGN’s employees have voiced concerns about the company’s workplace environment and how IGN leadership and HR handled the matter referred to on Twitter on Friday.
“We are sorry that any employees, present or past, feel the company has not treated them with the respect they deserve. We take the feedback we have received seriously and we are committed to ensuring that our reporting procedures for complaints of misconduct and harassment are carried out effectively, thoroughly, and professionally.
“In light of recent complaints, we are enlisting the assistance of an independent consultant to review how we handled the matter in question and our HR practices in general. Based on the consultant’s recommendations, we will make any necessary changes.
“It is our goal to provide a working environment free from all forms of unlawful harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. We know our employees are IGN’s most important asset and we will do all we can to make sure the working environment at IGN is a safe and happy one.”
As well as a statement that was put out to the public, an email was sent round by IGN’s website’s content team to all the current staff at IGN saying:
“Much of the understanding and progress we made as a group today is summarized in this post from our Content team. It is clear IGN can and must do better delivering on our commitment to a safe and harassment-free work environment for employees.
“I am taking the following steps to ensure we achieve our goals. First, I will enlist an independent expert to thoroughly examine how we handled the matter in question and, more broadly, all other important aspects of creating a healthy workplace. Second, I will turn the findings and recommendations of that review into specific actions that I will share with all of you. I will be accountable to you for delivering results. Third, I will work to give HR a stronger presence throughout IGN, including outside the San Francisco office.
“I’m not going to reiterate IGN’s committment to a safe and harassment free work environment. Instead I am going to work with all of you to prove it with our actions and results from here on out.”