#MeToo: 'When I told HR they fired me the next day'

A former employee of Naughty Dog, has claimed that the company terminated him after he filed a sexual harassment complaint.

David Ballard, an environment artist who worked at the video game development firm, for two different jobs between 2009 and 2016, wrote the statements on social media, which explained that he was sexually harassed by a lead at the Sony-owned PlayStation studio – Kotaku reports.

“In late 2015, I was sexually harassed at Naughty Dog by a lead,” Ballard wrote. “My work environment became extremely toxic afterward. In February 2016 I had a mental breakdown at work & Sony Playstation HR became involved. When I told them about the harassment they ended the call and fired me the next day. They cited the company was moving in a different direction and my job was no longer needed. They tried to silence me by offering $20,000 if I signed a letter agreeing to the termination as well as to not discuss it with anyone. I declined to sign. I have been unemployed for 17 months since.”

Kotaku spoke with Naughty Dog, who said they have no record of these allegations. Current and former employees told the publication they were both shocked and saddened by the situation.