According to Bloomberg, the head of PlayStation at Sony (PS4, PS5), Jim Ryan, has angered some of his employees with an internal email. He asks them to respect everyone’s opinion on the controversial topic of abortion rights and then spoke about his cats.
Where does the information come from? Gaming journalist Jason Schreier reports for Bloomberg on an internal email that Jim Ryan sent to some Sony employees on Thursday (via bloomberg). Ryan is the head of PlayStation.
This is the situation regarding abortion in the USA: Since 1973, the precedent Roe vs. Wade has made abortion federally legal in the USA, allowing every woman to decide alone whether she wants an abortion or not.
However, also because Donald Trump has populated the Supreme Court with conservative judges, the Supreme Court of the USA is now looking to overturn this ruling and return the decision on abortion to the states. It is expected that up to 26 states could ban abortion.
PlayStation head does not take a position on abortion dispute
This is the email from the PlayStation head: In the email, Ryan does not take a position on the abortion discussion but writes that the company Sony and its community is “multifaceted and diverse,” with many different perspectives.
We owe it to ourselves and the millions of PlayStation users to respect the differing opinions of everyone in the internal and external community. Respecting is not the same as agreeing. But it is fundamental to who we are as a company and as a valued global brand.
After this paragraph, Ryan is said to have written that he would like to share something light to inspire everyone to find a balance that helps cope with the stress of the uncertain world situation.
He is then reported to have written five additional paragraphs about how his cats were now celebrating their first birthday, the noises they make, and that he would like to get a dog.
A dog is after all man’s best friend, he knows his place and would fulfill useful roles, such as biting beggars or chasing balls.
“Never been so angry about a cat’s birthday”
How was the email received? As Bloomberg reports, some Sony employees expressed their displeasure about the email in internal discussions. Some women felt that the message did not respect their rights or trivialized them.
Someone at Sony is quoted as saying: “I have never been so angry about a cat’s birthday.”
In reactions to the email on Twitter, the phrasing “that dogs would know their place” is also criticized – in that context, it had a bad undertone.
How to handle the situation differently is shown by Destiny developer Bungie:
Destiny 2: Bungie comments on abortion – told: “Better stick to your games”
