In October of last year, former Naughty Dog Environment Artist David Ballard claimed that he was sexually harassed during his time at the studio, which was followed by reporter Megan Farokhmanesh making similar claims a few days later. Although Naughty Dog claims that an internal investigation into Ballard’s case led to no evidence, Ballard doesn’t feel that the situation got the attention it deserved, and made that clear in a series of tweets earlier this week.
It’s been 2 and a half years since I was sexually harassed at Naughty Dog by a lead. And 2 years and 2 months since I told Sony PlayStation HR that I was sexually harassed and then promptly fired. I still don’t feel like I have the dignity or respect because of it.
— David Ballard (@DBal) May 7, 2018
If Sony PlayStation came out and said, yes, he’s telling the truth, I’d be so relieved and happy.
— David Ballard (@DBal) May 7, 2018
I mean, do I need to name the harasser to get justice
— David Ballard (@DBal) May 7, 2018
One Twitter follower spoke up and encouraged Ballard to provide a name.
Thank you. His name is Robert Cogburn. Former Naughty Dog co-president Christophe Balestra accused me of wanting to fire Robert when I told him I couldn’t work with him anymore. HR was present. And it was Sony PlayStation HR Heather Zavadil who I told about the harassment.
— David Ballard (@DBal) May 10, 2018
Robert Cogburn has worked on many games, including Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, The Last of Us, and its Left Behind DLC. He was also the Lead Multiplayer Designer for Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy.
On January 28th, Cogburn announced that he left Naughty Dog for a role at Wonderstorm, a startup company working on a Netflix Original animated series, as well as a game that takes place in the same universe as the show.