PETALING JAYA, May 13 ― Sony Playstation employees are reportedly “seething” over a company email which skirts around abortion rights in the United States, before segueing into five paragraphs about their boss’ cats.

According to Bloomberg, Playstation chief executive officer Jim Ryan on Thursday sent out a staff email discussing current events ― including the recently leaked draft of a US Supreme Court opinion on abortion rights.

The draft opinion indicated an intention to overturn the landmark 1973 decision of Roe v Wade, which legalised abortion in the US.

While Ryan avoided taking a stance on the issue, he reportedly wrote that “we owe it to each other and to PlayStation’s millions of users to respect differences of opinion among everyone in our internal and external communities”.

He then followed this up with news of his two cats’ first birthday, including details of their birthday cakes, the noises they make, and his desire to own a dog.

Explaining his intention for sharing these pet-related details, Ryan wrote that he wanted “to share something lighthearted to help inspire everyone to be mindful of having balance that can help ease the stress of uncertain world events”.

Ryan also shared his provocative thoughts on dogs: “dogs really are man’s best friend, they know their place”.

 

Quoting internal discussions, Bloomberg reported that staff across several Playstation studios expressed their displeasure at the message, with one saying they had “never been so mad about a cat birthday before.”

Ryan’s email stands in stark contrast to Destiny developer Bungie Inc, which recently came out in firm and vocal support for abortions rights.

Bungie, which is currently being acquired by Sony, issued a public statement earlier this month saying: “Standing up for reproductive choice and liberty is not a difficult decision to make, and Bungie remains dedicated to upholding these values.”