Jim Ryan, president and CEO of Sony PlayStation. Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images
As the very real threat of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade looms over the country, the president and CEO of PlayStation sent an email to hundreds of his employees asking them to somehow stay neutral on abortion but adding several paragraphs about his cats as a palate cleanser, according to Bloomberg.
In the company email sent Thursday and seen by Bloomberg, Jim Ryan took a milquetoast approach to addressing the likelihood that the court will strike down Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, rendering abortion illegal or inaccessible in 26 states.“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,” Ryan wrote. “Respect does not equal agreement. But it is fundamental to who we are as a company and as a valued global brand.”
He then wrapped his already nebbish take on the national threat to reproductive rights with a tone-deaf, five-paragraph spiel about his cats’ (plural) first birthday and his desire to own a dog someday.
“Dogs really are man’s best friend, they know their place, and perform useful functions like biting burglars and chasing balls that you throw for them,” Ryan wrote, according to Bloomberg.
PlayStation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Needless to say, employees are pissed. “Never been so mad about a cat birthday before,” one employee told Bloomberg.
While some smaller developers have shared their support for women’s reproductive rights after the draft Supreme Court opinion was leaked, few companies in the industry as big as Sony have said anything about it.
One of the few to do so, however, was Destiny developer Bungie, a team purchased by PlayStation for $3.6 billion earlier this year—which makes Ryan’s email even more awkward. The developer announced its full support of a person’s right to choose in a blog post earlier this month, and included a few charities that support reproductive healthcare that gamers could donate to.
“The leaked draft decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade represents a blow to freedom in America and is a direct attack on human rights,” the post said. “Standing up for reproductive choice and liberty is not a difficult decision to make, and Bungie remains dedicated to upholding these values.”
Despite receiving some backlash on social media for speaking on real-world issues, Bungie didn’t mince words with community members who were upset about their unabashed pro-choice advocacy.
In the company email sent Thursday and seen by Bloomberg, Jim Ryan took a milquetoast approach to addressing the likelihood that the court will strike down Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, rendering abortion illegal or inaccessible in 26 states.
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He then wrapped his already nebbish take on the national threat to reproductive rights with a tone-deaf, five-paragraph spiel about his cats’ (plural) first birthday and his desire to own a dog someday.
“Dogs really are man’s best friend, they know their place, and perform useful functions like biting burglars and chasing balls that you throw for them,” Ryan wrote, according to Bloomberg.
PlayStation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Needless to say, employees are pissed. “Never been so mad about a cat birthday before,” one employee told Bloomberg.
While some smaller developers have shared their support for women’s reproductive rights after the draft Supreme Court opinion was leaked, few companies in the industry as big as Sony have said anything about it.
One of the few to do so, however, was Destiny developer Bungie, a team purchased by PlayStation for $3.6 billion earlier this year—which makes Ryan’s email even more awkward. The developer announced its full support of a person’s right to choose in a blog post earlier this month, and included a few charities that support reproductive healthcare that gamers could donate to.
“The leaked draft decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade represents a blow to freedom in America and is a direct attack on human rights,” the post said. “Standing up for reproductive choice and liberty is not a difficult decision to make, and Bungie remains dedicated to upholding these values.”
Despite receiving some backlash on social media for speaking on real-world issues, Bungie didn’t mince words with community members who were upset about their unabashed pro-choice advocacy.
“We’ve chosen our side and it wasn’t difficult. Our company values exist beyond our games,” it tweeted.