Kim MacAskill, a writer whose career includes work on upcoming Rocksteady game Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, was recently nominated for a lifetime achievement award by the nonprofit organisation Women in Games. However, she recently took to Twitter to announce that she cannot in good conscience accept the award, as both Rocksteady Studios and its parent company, Warner Bros. Interactive, are among the event’s sponsors. MacAskill said that Rocksteady and Warner Bros. had not adequately addressed the rampant harassment and sexism that she and other female employees had allegedly experienced at the studio. “Stop enabling bad behaviour,” wrote MacAskill. “You can throw your name on every diversity event going. But unless you take accountability, it means nothing and I see you.”
Unfortunately, I’m bowing out from the lifetime achievement nomination for @wigj (women in games). I don’t need sympathy or hatred but simply understanding. I’m so sorry to those that voted.. @warnerbros – take accountability. @RocksteadyGames , you can’t sweep mistakes. pic.twitter.com/XIYoruQ0uZ
— Kim MacAskill (@kimmacaskill1) September 18, 2022
In August 2020, The Guardian published a damming report about accusations of sexual harassment and discrimination at the studio behind the Batman: Arkham series. The story revealed that in 2018, over half of Rocksteady’s female staff signed a letter that attempted to bring matters to leadership’s attention, in which they claimed they had to endure colleagues’ unwanted advances, “leering at parts of a woman’s body and [making] inappropriate comments at the office,” among other things.
In an August 2020 video, MacAskill claimed that both HR and upper management had discouraged her from sending the letter. She claimed that she was pulled aside and told, “To continue [taking action] would potentially jeopardize my position within the company…and my position of being hired by other companies going forward because I might be seen as a troublemaker,” she said. “It was like choosing between my dream job and my dignity.” She believes that Rocksteady allowed her contract to expire out of retaliation.
Rocksteady acknowledged the claims after they were reported in the news. The official Twitter account posted: “All formal complaints were thoroughly investigated, addressed appropriately, and a number of serious measures were taken in response to the issues that were surfaced, including discipline or termination of staff.” The studio also said it had enlisted an independent third-party entity which employees could use to confidentially report any issues they may wish to raise. Kotaku reached out to Warner Bros, but did not get a response at the time of publication.
Kotaku reached out to MacAskill to ask about the company’s response to her tweet. She said that she had contacted Warner Bros. about declining the award, and she wanted to resolve the situation. The publisher told her that it was not open to discussion. Kotaku also reached out to Women in Games, but did not receive a comment on the situation.
“All I want is an apology, and last week I even asked for it. I half begged. I just want this to be resolved, but not like that,” wrote MacAskill, who mentioned that the studio had offered her money, and to reinstate her credit on Suicide Squad. “Not with money. How does anything change that way? Somehow in 2022, an apology is still too great a cost for Warner [Bros.] and Rocksteady to bear.”
She holds firm on rejecting the Women in Games award. “To take an award connected to [Rocksteady] would be an unspoken acceptance of what they did.”
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