Sharon O’Donnell, a former executive assistant at Riot Games, has included additional allegations of sexual misconduct by Riot CEO Nicolo Laurent in a new legal filing, according to a report by Daily Esports.
The filing states O’Donnell had an alleged meeting with an unnamed witness, who told O’Donnell of two alleged instances of sexual misconduct by Laurent. Specifically, the witness claimed, according to the filing, that Laurent “touched her breast” and “brushed up against her and she felt his privates when he did so,” on different occasions.
In a statement to Daily Esports regarding the latest filing, Riot said the new allegations are “demonstrably false in light of the signed declarations.”
The new allegations come a day after Riot released a review conducted by a special committee of Riot Games’ board of directors, which stated it was “unable to find any evidence that would justify a sanction of any kind against Laurent.” Riot also made legal filings yesterday, denying O’Donnell’s allegations and levying allegations of witness tampering against O’Donnell.
Additionally, Laurent sent an email to all Riot employees upon the conclusion of the committees’ inquiry.
“The allegations of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation involving me are not true,” Laurent wrote. “Nothing of that nature, or even remotely close to it, ever happened. … Now, I know that some of you don’t know me well and may still have your doubts. I want to assure you that just as Riot is on a journey of learning and growth, so too are all of our leaders, including myself.”
Following her dismissal in July 2020, O’Donnell claimed Riot wrongfully terminated her after she reported Laurent to human resources. She also said she was forced her to work overtime that she was not compensated for and made other allegations of sexist behavior and sexual abuse. The allegations were at the center of the Alienware, the gaming subsidiary of Dell, decision to terminate its sponsorship with Riot nearly 10 months early, as reported by Dot Esports on Monday.
