Google Contractor Files Lawsuit Claiming He Was Fired for Exposing Cult Activity

A former Google contractor claims that he was fired by the woke internet giant after reporting that at least 12 members of an obscure religious sect within Google have an inappropriate level of influence over the workplace. The religious group in question, the Fellowship of Friends, is considered a cult by many.

The New York Times reports that Kevin Lloyd, a contractor hired to work as a video producer for Google Developer Studio (GDS) alleges that at least 12 members of an obscure religious sect working for GDS hold a disproportionate level of influence over the workplace. Lloyd further alleges that he was fired after calling out this issue and has filed a lawsuit against Google and his contracting agency, ASK, for wrongful termination, retaliation, emotional distress, and failure to protect him from discrimination.

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The religious sect is called the Fellowship of Friends, and allegedly believes that “higher consciousness can be achieved by embracing fine arts and culture.” The group that many consider a cult has a 1,200-acre compound in Oregon House, California and was the main focus of an investigative Spotify podcast promising to reveal its “dark secrets.”

Fellowship of Friends member Peter Lubbers is the head of GDS and has reportedly hired a number of other Fellowship members, including a video producer. The NYT reported that Fellowship members that are not employees still hold roles at Google’s company events, including “working registration desks, taking photographs, playing music, providing massages and serving wine.”

Google also allegedly purchases the wine served at these events from a winery run by the Fellowship. Lloyd’s lawsuit alleges that Google paid for a “state-of-the-art sound system installed in the Oregon House home of one Fellowship member who worked for the team as a sound designer.”

The NYT interviewed eight current and former Google employees and examined publicly available documents including a list of Fellowship members, Google event media, and budget spreadsheets. Another Google contractor, Erik Johanson, told the NYT that Google’s partnership with AGS allowed the GDS team to hire more Fellowship members as contracted are hired “with far less scrutiny and a far less rigorous on-boarding process.”

Lloyd alleges that his complaints about the influence of the religious group were met with indifference, and he was fired shortly afterward without reason. Google claims that Lloyd was fired for performance issues.

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