Google legal chief acknowledges affair after scathing account published
David Drummond says he regrets his part in a "difficult breakup."
"I am far from perfect and I regret my part in that," Google Chief Legal Officer David Drummond said in a statement.
Google Chief Legal Officer David Drummond on Thursday publicly acknowledged an affair with a former co-worker but said he won't engage in a public back-and-forth, after a scathing account of their extramarital relationship was published a day earlier.
"It's not a secret that Jennifer and I had a difficult breakup 10 years ago," Drummond said in a statement obtained by BuzzFeed. He was referring to Jennifer Blakely, a former employee in Google's legal department, who posted her account on Medium. "I am far from perfect and I regret my part in that."
Blakely, who worked as a contracts manager, says the two started dating in 2004 and have a son together. She said Drummond initially refused to discuss child support, and she called his treatment "nothing short of abuse."
Google declined to comment, but pointed to Drummond's personal statement published by BuzzFeed. Blakely didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
In his response, Drummond doesn't specifically address many of Blakely's specific allegations, such as her statement about child support. Instead, he says "there are two sides to all the conversations and details Jennifer recounts, and I take a very different view about what happened."
Blakely also alleged that Drummond began an affair with a personal assistant, whom she said he moved into one of his homes, and had an affair with another Googler.
In his statement, Drummond says he "never started a relationship" with anyone else at Google or Alphabet, its parent company.
The scandal comes as Google faces turmoil and criticism over its internal culture. Blakely first made her allegations about Drummond's behavior in a bombshell New York Times article in November. The report focused on the company's handling of sexual misconduct allegations against key executives, including Android creator Andy Rubin and former Google X director Richard DeVaul. The story spurred a massive walkout protest from 20,000 Google employees in offices around the world.