Following recent reports that Rocksteady Studios failed to address sexual harassment enough, the Batman: Arkham developers have responded in a most interesting way. While they have yet to issue a public statement, they have posted an “unsolicited letter” from some of the employees behind the 2018 letter, which first raised the issues. The authors of the new letter say they think Rocksteady has been better than claimed. But without even signaling the allegations, Rocksteady casually posted this letter on Twitter. This makes it their first public reaction and defense, a purpose for which the letter is desperately unfavorable and mediocre. This is: mystification.
Earlier this week, The Guardian reported on a letter sent to management in 2018 by 10 of Rocksteady’s 16 female employees, which raised issues about sexual harassment and discrimination. One of the signatories shared this letter with the newspaper, claiming that the company had not done enough, that some of the other women were leaving because of these circumstances, and that some people at Rocksteady were still suffering. Following the Guardian’s report, the apparent former senior writer of Rocksteady’s upcoming Suicide Squad game came forward to talk more about proven harassment, abuse, and management control that led to women writing that letter, and saying that she wanted her name to take down the game.
Speaking to the Guardian, Rocksteady claimed that they “immediately took firm action to address the issues that were raised” and have been hunky-dory ever since. They have not yet formally made a public statement on the matter. So why did they do this:
Seven of the eight employees left out of the 10 who signed the 2018 letter said they think The Guardian did not represent the case. They think Rocksteady did it right, and said they do not want this case made public. So she wrote a new letter. If her experience at Rocksteady is better now, I’m happy for her. If they want to fight the Guardian in public, it’s their right. What’s weird and bad is that Rocksteady jumped in to keep these women as shields.
Although Rocksteady says this letter is not her response, the way she shares it on Twitter effectively makes one. Their first public comment on the matter is in principle “But some women say we are better now.” That is so far short of acceptable. The letter does not acknowledge apparent abuse of management that led to the 2018 letter being necessary, it does not talk about disciplinary measures or plans for improvement. The fact that Rocksteady “has held workshops to build self-confidence in male-dominated industry” is secondary to what they do (or have done) about problems caused by men at their male-dominated business in this male-dominated sector. But the letter does not have to talk about everything. It does not need to. That’s not the responsibility of these women, it’s Rocksteady’s – and their first reaction was a deflection.
The view of this new letter is clearly not shared by everyone either. One signer (it is unclear if she is still at Rocksteady) was still not happy enough with the situation to show the 2018 letter to a newspaper. The former author of Suicide Squad who drafted that old letter has said she thinks she lost her job because of this. The Guardian report claimed that at least one person left Rocksteady because of her inactivity. And although we do not know who or why, we must remember that one of the remaining original signatories did not sign this letter of dissolution.
I will trust when these eight people say that management did not pressure them to write a new letter. While there is an early energy of urgency, but days before the announcement of Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, people obviously want a good reception because they are showing the world what they have been doing for years. I ask the kindness to try to close women who have apparently suffered. But again, I emphasize that it is not the responsibility of this letter to express unusual feelings, resolve conflicts or defuse concerns.
By sharing this letter before making their own statement, Rocksteady are spreading some of their own problems (whether they are today or past) by pitting women against each other. That’s shocking.
