A new report from the New York Times alleges that the Silicon Valley Masters of the Universe at Google protected executives accused of sexual misconduct for years, even keeping an executive’s mistress on the payroll.
A report from the New York Times titled “How Google Protected Andy Rubin, the ‘Father of Android’” outlines how the progressive tech giant Google protected three executives that were accused of sexual misconduct for more than a decade. The article notes that Andy Rubin, the creator of the Android mobile operating system, left the company in October and was given a “hero’s farewell” by executives at the company.
Larry Page, Google’s chief executive, commented on Rubin’s departure in a statement saying: “I want to wish Andy all the best with what’s next. With Android he created something truly remarkable — with a billion-plus happy users.” The New York Times notes that in their farewell to Rubin, the company failed to mention that Rubin was leaving the company after a claim of sexual assault by a Google employee with whom Rubin had been having an extramarital relationship.
The article states:
What Google did not make public was that an employee had accused Mr. Rubin of sexual misconduct. The woman, with whom Mr. Rubin had been having an extramarital relationship, said he coerced her into performing oral sex in a hotel room in 2013, according to two company executives with knowledge of the episode. Google investigated and concluded her claim was credible, said the people, who spoke on the condition that they not be named, citing confidentiality agreements. Mr. Rubin was notified, they said, and Mr. Page asked for his resignation.
Google could have fired Mr. Rubin and paid him little to nothing on the way out. Instead, the company handed him a $90 million exit package, paid in installments of about $2 million a month for four years, said two people with knowledge of the terms. The last payment is scheduled for next month.
Even more worrying is the fact that this is not the first time that Google has covered up for an executive accused of sexual misconduct. The article goes on to say:
Mr. Rubin was one of three executives that Google protected over the past decade after they were accused of sexual misconduct. In two instances, it ousted senior executives, but softened the blow by paying them millions of dollars as they departed, even though it had no legal obligation to do so. In a third, the executive remained in a highly compensated post at the company. Each time Google stayed silent about the accusations against the men.
Notably, former Google and (later parent company) Alphabet Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt is revealed in the article to have kept his mistress on the payroll as a “company consultant.” Schmidt has been a long-time supporter of Hillary Clinton and even expressed interest in being “head outside advisor” to Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Google, founded in 1998 by Mr. Page and Sergey Brin when they were Stanford University graduate students, fostered a permissive workplace culture from the start.
In Silicon Valley, it is widely known that Mr. Page had dated Marissa Mayer, one of the company’s first engineers who later became chief executive of Yahoo. (Both were single.) Eric Schmidt, Google’s former chief executive, once retained a mistress to work as a company consultant, according to four people with knowledge of the relationship. And Mr. Brin, who along with Mr. Page owns the majority of voting shares in Google’s parent, Alphabet, had a consensual extramarital affair with an employee in 2014, said three employees with knowledge of the relationship.
Google then took action. Ms. Blakely said Stacy Sullivan, then the head of human resources and now chief culture officer, told her that Google discouraged managers from having relationships with subordinates.
“One of us would have to leave the legal department,” Ms. Blakely said. “It was clear it would not be David.”
While Google has spent a lot of time in the past few years virtue signaling how “woke” and progressive they are as a company, it seems that some of the company’s executives have been taking part in a number of activities that would see most fired immediately. Instead, the progressive Silicon Valley tech giant chose to protect these individuals.
Read the full article in the New York Times here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan_ or email him at lnolan@breitbart.com.
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