Mad Men producer Marti Noxon has come forward to defend show writer Kater Gordon after Gordon accused series creator Matthew Weiner of sexual harassment this month.
In a lengthy message posted to her social media account Friday, Noxon — who also served as a producer on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and is currently the showrunner of Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce — said she believed Gordon after the writer claimed this month that Weiner made a sexually inappropriate comment to her while working on the show.
I believe her,” Noxon wrote in one of a series of tweets Friday. “I was at work with her the day after what she described transpired. I remember clearly how shaken and subdued Kater was — and continued to be from that day on.”
In an interview this month, Gordon claimed she was working with Weiner at a late-night writing session for the critically-acclaimed series when the showrunner allegedly told her she owed it to him to see her naked. Gordon said she was shaken by the alleged incident, was fired one year later, and never worked in the entertainment industry again, despite winning an Emmy for her work on Mad Men.
Noxon, who served as a consulting producer on 20 episodes of the series, went on to describe Weiner as “devilishly clever and witty,” but also as an “emotional terrorist who will badger, seduce and even tantrum in an attempt to get his needs met.”
“Everyone at Mad Men, regardless of gender or position, was affected by this atmosphere,” Noxon continued. “Why did we not confront him more or report him to our parent companies? Well, for one, we were grateful to him for the work and truly in awe of his talents. For another, it was hard to know what was real when moods and needs shifted so frequently.”
Noxon concluded by writing that she both witnessed and experienced misconduct on the set of Mad Men, but did not go into further detail.
“I believe Kater Gordon,” she concluded.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the harassment allegation is affecting Weiner’s current book tour. The outlet reports that one-third of the promotional dates for the writer’s new novel have been cancelled in the wake of the claims.
Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum