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Andy Rubin Takes Leave From Essential as Probe Into 'Inappropriate' Google Relationship Goes Public, Report Claims (theverge.com) 240

An anonymous reader shares a report: Essential founder and CEO Andy Rubin has taken a leave of absence from his new company for "personal reasons" following a report on the circumstances of his 2014 departure from Google. According to The Information, Rubin left Google shortly after an investigation found that he had maintained an "inappropriate relationship" with a woman who worked under him and filed a complaint to HR. The nature of that relationship isn't detailed in the report, and Rubin's spokesperson Mike Sitrick denies the connection. "Any relationship that Mr. Rubin had while at Google was consensual," Sitrick tells The Information. "Mr. Rubin was never told by Google that he engaged in any misconduct while at Google and he did not, either while at Google or since." Rubin is said to have told Essential employees of his leave of absence on Monday after The Information informed Sitrick of its story.
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Andy Rubin Takes Leave From Essential as Probe Into 'Inappropriate' Google Relationship Goes Public, Report Claims

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  • by Anonymous Coward

    All these psychopaths that have been publicly outed in the last few weeks are a GREAT BEGINNING !!

    Let's clean up the human race and put these predators in jail!

  • Color me shocked (Score:3, Insightful)

    by butchersong ( 1222796 ) on Wednesday November 29, 2017 @10:19AM (#55643225)
    Women find men in positions of authority over them attractive. Men find women subordinate to them attractive because authority and respect are strong aphrodisiacs for men...
    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Junta ( 36770 )

      Of course, that may be the case, but the fact remains that the woman reported it, which indicates either:
      -She did *not* find him attractive and was uncomfortable with unwelcome advances he was making
      -It was a consensual relationship that ended very badly, and she wanted to punish him through work

      Calling it an 'inappropriate relationship' is a nice neutral way of getting rid of the problem without having to weigh in on who is telling the truth and who is lying.

      • Of course, that may be the case, but the fact remains that the woman reported it, which indicates either: -She did *not* find him attractive and was uncomfortable with unwelcome advances he was making -It was a consensual relationship that ended very badly, and she wanted to punish him through work

        Calling it an 'inappropriate relationship' is a nice neutral way of getting rid of the problem without having to weigh in on who is telling the truth and who is lying.

        I highly doubt that she reported him for unwanted advances while he says they had a consensual relationship. If the advances were indeed unwanted why would she then proceed to sex? If she proceeded to the sexual stage under duress/force/threats then it's most certainly a criminal offence and the cops have to be involved.

        There is no explanation that can support a "not a consensual relationship that ended badly"; any explanation (unwanted advances, assault) fails under even a cursory examination.

        • by RedK ( 112790 )

          There is no explanation that can support a "not a consensual relationship that ended badly";

          You missed the word "Either". That a good explanation ? ;)

        • by Junta ( 36770 )

          why would she then proceed to sex?

          Exaggerating the relationship to be able to better defend his image seems to be a plausible outcome. I read another story about someone being exceptionally creepy but not actually going to 'assault', and the woman said it never got anywhere and just wanted him to be forced to leave her alone, and he claimed they were in a relationship and he had been having sex with her. In that case, she was just glad not to have to interact with him anymore and wasn't going to officially challenge the account because sh

          • why would she then proceed to sex?

            Exaggerating the relationship to be able to better defend his image seems to be a plausible outcome. I read another story about someone being exceptionally creepy but not actually going to 'assault', and the woman said it never got anywhere and just wanted him to be forced to leave her alone, and he claimed they were in a relationship and he had been having sex with her. In that case, she was just glad not to have to interact with him anymore and wasn't going to officially challenge the account because she just wanted him away.

            We are not privy to the subtlety and nuance of the situation, so it's unreasonable to assume it is one thing or the other. After a healthy dose of PR and an anonymous complaint, it's impossible to determine what really happened.

            We know what he says, because he said it to the press. We don't know if she claimed unwanted advances because we don't know what she said, or even if she said anything. At this point it is safe to assume that they had a sexual relationship, because that's all we were told.

            • by Junta ( 36770 )

              I think it warrants a more balanced perspective, we have a woman who is anonymous (and probably wants to remain so) and Rubin. The silence of someone who probably wants to just stay out of it cannot be 'safe to assume' to be in agreement with Rubin. Rubin can't avoid the spotlight and *must* say something and he sure as hell isn't going to say something bad about himself if he can help it, and depending on the woman's situation, she may never want to come forward to challenge.

              We can neither condemn him nor

        • What if someone else (say a jealous coworker) reported them and she spoke to someone from HR without being aware of the consequences?
      • That about covers why a superior and subordinate at work shouldn't enter a relationship. Most people assume it's to protect the subordinate from improper pressure to enter the relationship. But it's also to protect the superior from false accusations of pressuring the subordinate to enter the relationship. Although people usually assume the subordinate is the victim, either can be the victim.
        • Why assume either one is the victim? What about them being two compatible people who enter into a relationship? Assuming a reasonably good job market, one or both are free to leave the company at any time if there's an issue.

          The real victimizers here? HR and their zero-tolerance policies. Zero tolerance = zero brain.

          • by Junta ( 36770 )

            Because either:
            -She was made uncomfortable by improper interactions with Rubin
            -Rubin was unfairly smeared by a relationship with a subordinate

            He wouldn't be having to leave his 'Essential' endeavor behind if neither person was a victim.

      • -It was a consensual relationship that ended very badly, and she wanted to punish him through work

        It didn't necessarily end badly, it could have just ended. Continuing to report to an ex would be very uncomfortable for anyone, no matter how they parted. She may have simply gone to HR about a transfer or something, and had to supply the reason, so it would be in the report.

        This is why you don't shit where you eat. Important rule.

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      What kind of person finds the respect of people whose destiny they control flattering? It's just arse-kissing. Real respect comes from peers and from those who do not benefit from giving it.

  • by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 29, 2017 @10:35AM (#55643309)

    If you care about your carreer limit to a bare minimum all non work related relations. I for one, I'm growing more paranoid about having a coffee with a female collegue. And If I do, I always do in public.

    Considering that many buisness decisions are made over coffee, this will slowly lead the to exclusion of women.

    • I'm not convinced that even this will be enough - they fired Matt Lauer immediately, with no evidence. You could shut yourself up in a room and have 0 contact with women and STILL find yourself fired for "inappropriate sexual behavior".
      • Supposedly there was a NYT article coming out about Matt Lauer, and others are reporting something happened in 2014. And maybe Matt Lauer said, "Yea I did that," and they said, "well we need to let you go, here's a severance."

    • by e_pluribus_funk ( 648835 ) on Wednesday November 29, 2017 @11:34AM (#55643645)
      >Considering that many buisness decisions are made over coffee, this will slowly lead the to exclusion of women.

      Don't worry, the articles will be coming out shortly about how women are being frozen out of social events and the big boys club. Never mind that people have been fired for inviting women out to happy hours because it was "harassment".

      My informal, personal pledge from now on is to never help anyone professionally who even gives a hint of being of the SJW crowd; and I have zero tolerance for real harassment (and, AFAIK, have never been accused of harassment, but from what I've read from men working in HR, as a male in management, you've probably been accused and didn't even know it at least once in your career).
  • by DeplorableCodeMonkey ( 4828467 ) on Wednesday November 29, 2017 @10:57AM (#55643445)

    Feminists and feminism-inclined women want to be on all sides of the issue in a "heads we win, tails you lose" way. Don't believe me? Consider two facts about male-female interaction and how they approach them:

    Office time:
    1. Closing the door is dangerous.
    2. Not closing the door is sexist because it makes her feel less comfortable having an honest discussion.
    3. Women are always to be given the benefit of the doubt when they say something happened.
    4. Behind a closed door it's impossible, short of secretly recording (which isn't always legal), for a man to have any evidence to defend himself.

    Moral of the story: due your duty and fall on your sword if a woman wants to advance over you.

    Fraternization:
    1. If a woman wants to romantically pursue coworkers you are an awful person who thinks they own women for telling her to not shit where she eats, particularly if you threaten to fire her pursuant to an archaic policy that prohibits relationships.
    2. If a woman feels there are any consequences to saying no other than "totally cool, I get you" from the man, she's automatically a victim if he is nominally more powerful than her in the org chart. This holds true even if he's above her but in a totally unrelated group and actually protected by a manager with real authority over her.
    3. If a woman agrees, for any reason, to have sex or be in a relationship she is not expected to "put on her big girl panties and be a professional" instead of complaining about her one night stand or ex.
    4. If a man decides to call it off because he decides it is unprofessional, he is fully responsible and to be condemned and not lauded.

    Moral of the story: women get a total free pass short of sexually assaulting barely legal interns in full view of corporate counsel.

    • Dude, I'm not a huge fan of women but none of what you say is remotely true. Women get harassed regularly. So do some men, usually by gay men. People really need to stop harassing people in the workplace and focus on their job.
      • by mjwx ( 966435 )

        Dude, I'm not a huge fan of women but none of what you say is remotely true.

        This is true.

        People who make the "male victimisation" posts are almost always angry men (boys is a better description, regardless of age) who cant form a proper relationship with a woman. They have no idea how to handle them or secretly harbour misogynist desires (much as we aren't surprised when some of the most ardent anti-gays are gay themselves). Given that it's become popular to be a victim, they create elaborate fantasies where someone else is to blame for their problems and how they're the innocent v

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      1. Closing the door is dangerous.
      2. Not closing the door is sexist because it makes her feel less comfortable having an honest discussion.
      3. Women are always to be given the benefit of the doubt when they say something happened.
      4. Behind a closed door it's impossible, short of secretly recording (which isn't always legal), for a man to have any evidence to defend himself.

      You are just being obtuse. When people say "women should be believed", they don't mean that an accusation is always true, they mean that an accusation should not be dismissed as "she was asking for it" or "it must have been consensual". It should be investigated, which is in everyone's interests, especially people who are falsely accused because it will both clear them and punish malicious accusers.

      And before you complain that there is no punishment for lying, tell that to the people in jail for lying about

      • It should be investigated, which is in everyone's interests, especially people who are falsely accused because it will both clear them and punish malicious accusers

        1. It is taken as an axiom of feminist thinking that if women ever lie about such things, it is so rare as to be unworthy of altering public policy. If you tell us you have never seen this sort of thinking you are either too ignorant of feminist arguments to have an opinion worth a damn or you are lying because it is repeated by every major and m

        • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          It is taken as an axiom of feminist thinking that if women ever lie about such things, it is so rare as to be unworthy of altering public policy.

          It's impossible to have a debate with you when you think that feminists are inherently dishonest. Your mind is closed and I don't think there is anything I can possibly say to pry it open.

          People frequently have their names trashed, even when exonerated, because some bitch or asshole will keep saying "yeah, I bet they did it." I've seen it happen

          So maybe instead of demanding that there are no investigations, try to fix that bit. Change attitudes, and get malicious accusations prosecuted. Do something productive instead of just ranting about feminism.

        • 1. It is taken as an axiom of feminist thinking that if women ever lie about such things, it is so rare as to be unworthy of altering public policy.

          Not sure about that, but it is taken as an axiom that people arguing on the internet will simply make whatever shit up that comes into their head if it supports their point.

    • Behind a closed door it's impossible, short of secretly recording (which isn't always legal), for a man to have any evidence to defend himself.

      My office has glass doors.

  • I think if this keeps up, they're going to eventually hit every male executive in every company.

    It must be a power thing...I've never worked in a department with someone who was crazy enough to get involved with a work relationship, especially the superior-and-subordinate kind. I've worked with salespeople in some aspects of my work -- those guys, even at the non-exec level, always pegged the slimebag-meter so I wouldn't be surprised if sales orgs get cleaned out as well. What's interesting is that I've alw

  • by Megane ( 129182 )

    What is "Essential"? I have never heard of this company before, and I have no idea what kind of relationship it would have with Google. Just because it's familiar to the submitter doesn't mean the rest of Slashdot has any clue about it!

    Also, ho hum, another domino falls.

  • What does a complaint to HR at an organization he left have to do with the current company? I miss the connection.

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