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Google reportedly paid Android creator millions after sex misconduct claim

By Laura Italiano October 25, 2018


Google is about to pay Andy Rubin, the creator of Android, the last installment of his ­­$90 million exit package — a golden parachute he received despite his being credibly accused of coercing a female employee into performing oral sex, it was revealed on Thursday.

In addition to claims the legendary software developer coerced a colleague to perform oral sex on him in a hotel room, Rubin had multiple ­extramarital affairs with colleagues — and had bizarre “ownership relationships” with other women to whom he paid hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to an explosive report.

Google is shelling out a $90 million exit package to Rubin — despite the fact that the search giant had investigated the woman’s claims and found them credible, two company execs told The New York Times.

Instead of firing Rubin — and paying him a goodbye pittance — Google began paying him $2 million a month for four years, with the last payment scheduled for next month, sources with knowledge of the terms told the paper.

Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai, in a Thursday memo to employees, said the Times story was “hard to read.” He didn’t deny any of what was reported, and further admitted to startling harassment stats at the company.

“In the last two years, 48 people have been terminated for sexual harassment, including 13 who were senior managers and above,” Pichai said in the memo, obtained by CNBC, which was also signed by Eileen Naughton, vice president of people operations. “None of these individuals received an exit package.”

A Google spokeswoman said in a statement that the company takes harassment seriously.

Over the past decade, two other senior execs were protected from public scandal and other repercussions — and in one instance paid a multimillion-dollar exit package — after being accused of sexual misconduct, the paper said, without naming the execs.

The generous goodbyes allowed Google to avoid costly, potentially embarrassing legal battles, the paper noted.

In the third instance, the exec was allowed to remain in a highly compensated position at Google despite sexual harassment allegations, the paper said, citing corporate and court documents plus interviews with anonymous company sources.

Rubin’s accuser, whose name was not revealed, had been in an extramarital relationship with him when he coerced her to perform oral sex on him in 2013, two execs told the paper.

Rubin, 55, met his wife at Google but dated other women at the company while they were together. In 2011, he had an affair with a woman on the Android team against company rules.

In a lawsuit filed this month by his ex-wife, Rie Rubin, she claimed he had multiple “ownership relationships” with other women during their marriage, paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to them.

The couple were divorced in August.

The suit included a screenshot of an August 2015 e-mail Andy Rubin sent to a woman. “You will be happy being taken care of,” he wrote. “Being owned is kinda like you are my property, and I can loan you to other people.”