PlayStation CEO reportedly upset staff over abortion rights comments

A report by Bloomberg claims that PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan sent a company-wide email insisting staff “respect differences of opinion” regarding abortion rights.

Ryan’s email reportedly responded to the recent draft decision leak regarding the Supreme Court potentially overturning Roe v. Wade. 

Sony is “multi-faceted and diverse, holding many different points of view,” Ryan said via Bloomberg. “We owe it to each other and to PlayStation’s millions of users to respect differences of opinion among everyone in our internal and external communities. Respect does not equal agreement. But it is fundamental to who we are as a company and as a valued global brand.”

After addressing the hot-button topic, Ryan allegedly went on to share “something lighthearted” before writing five in-depth paragraphs discussing his two cat’s birthdays. According to Bloomberg, many PlayStation staff felt their feelings on the matter were “disrespected or trivialized,” with one employee stating they’d “never been so mad about a cat birthday before.”

PlayStation boss Jim Ryan sent an email today asking his staff to “respect differences of opinion” on abortion rights. Then he wrote five paragraphs about his two cats’ birthdays, their habits, and his desire to get a dog.

People are… not thrilled! https://t.co/VSdhaTPEdN

— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) May 12, 2022

In the weeks since Politico‘s initial report, several high-profile companies within the games industry have made public statements on abortion rights. Most notably, Bungie called the leaked draft decision a “blow to freedom in America and is a direct attack on human rights.”

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.