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This article was published on May 17, 2017

VR startup sued for workplace sexual harassment by former employee


VR startup sued for workplace sexual harassment by former employee Image by: UploadVR/Facebook
Rachel Kaser
Story by

Rachel Kaser

Internet Culture Writer

Rachel is a writer and former game critic from Central Texas. She enjoys gaming, writing mystery stories, streaming on Twitch, and horseback Rachel is a writer and former game critic from Central Texas. She enjoys gaming, writing mystery stories, streaming on Twitch, and horseback riding. Check her Twitter for curmudgeonly criticisms.

UploadVR, a California-based VR-focused news and skill-training site, is being sued by a ex-employee for rampant sexual harassment in the workplace.

Former Upload Director of Digital and Social Media Elizabeth Scott filed the suit, naming Upload co-founders Will Mason and Taylor Freeman as defendants. Among other allegations, Scott claims in the lawsuit that the male defendants:

…purposefully and expressly created a “boy’s club” environment at work, focused on sex and degrading women, including female employees.

She also claims men in the office would use drugs (and attempt to force the female employees to use them as well), would frequently have sex in a special “kink room,” tried to secure “Samurai Girls” (submissive Asian women) before a fundraising trip to Asia, and invited prostitutes to mandatory work events.

In a statement to TechCrunch, defendants Mason and Freeman said, “We are confident that the true nature of how we treat our employees and how we operate as leaders will shine through this unfortunate situation and confirm that these allegations are entirely without merit.”

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