According to a report in Dot Esports, Alienware, the high-performance gaming PC brand owned by Dell, has severed ties with Riot Games over Riot CEO Nicolo Laurent’s ongoing sexual harassment investigation and other public relations concerns.
The deal, originally scheduled to end in January 2022, seems to have been terminated early amid concerns regarding Riot’s public image. Earlier this year, Laurent was sued by his former executive assistant for sexual harassment. In 2019, Riot settled a gender discrimination suit for $US10 ($13) million dollars and in 2018, Kotaku reported on Riot’s toxic and sexist work culture.
Alienware previously sponsored all of Riot’s League of Legends global esports broadcasts, including its Worlds tournament. Riot has since removed Alienware’s branding.
In a statement to Dot Esports, Riot said negotiations with Alienware were ongoing.
“We can’t comment on our agreement with them at this time due to confidentiality obligations,” the statement read “As we continue discussions with them, we have removed their branding from our broadcasts.”
Kotaku has reached out to Riot and Alienware for comment.
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