Dean Melanie Leslie told CNN Business regarding the Activision Blizzard lawsuit, "Too often, investigations go awry. Victims are silenced and the bad behavior continues. Companies often use investigations to gather ammunition to defend against lawsuits or to 'whitewash the scandal' in the public forum. Even well-intentioned investigations can struggle to get at the truth because employees may be afraid to be candid with company-appointed lawyers. Most important, internal investigations do little to get at the real problem–the need to change a particular corporate culture. What's really needed is effective ethical leadership."

The backlash against (and within) Activision Blizzard began with a lawsuit filed by California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing, alleging that multiple female employees were subjected to gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and unequal pay, and that the company's executives and human resources personnel knew about these issues and failed to try and stop it.