Prominent Call of Duty caster Philip ‘Momo’ Whitfield has confirmed that he has been released from employment with Activision Blizzard, following an investigation into messages he sent to female members of the gaming community.
On July 4, Whitfield stated that his contract as a caster and host for the Call of Duty League had been terminated, effective on June 30.
Various social media posts in the days prior had alleged that the cause of his termination was due to complaints made confidentially to Activision about Whitfield’s conduct.
“This decision follows what was described to me as an internal investigation after old messages that I’d sent to female members of the gaming community had been passed to my employer,” Whitfield said.
“For confidentiality reasons, the detail of these messages and the recipients were not disclosed, which I fully respect. I cannot therefore respond to the specific allegations and their context.”
According to Momo, the content of the messages “made the recipients feel uncomfortable.” He explained that he was ‘trying his luck’ “with women who hadn’t invited my attention, and I was being forward when I shouldn’t have been.”
“I did not believe at the time that I was making the recipients uncomfortable. Had I known this I would not have continued conversing in this way.”
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https://twitter.com/Momo/status/1279439185062047746
Concluding his statement, Momo said “the person I was back then is not the person I am now. I take full ownership for my misjudgments and would stress how sorry I am for my conduct.”
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“I’m sorry for my immaturity, I’m sorry for any explicit content or graphic language I used, I’m sorry for any tasteless humour, and I’m sorry to anybody who I’ve caused offense to or who has suffered in any way as a result of my actions. I hope they read this message and believe these words.”
Momo was formerly a professional Call of Duty player before he moved into casting, and was one of the main voices on CWL broadcasts, and later CDL, when the inaugural season of the franchised league began in late 2019.