The left-wing news site Vice has suspended its own president, Andrew Creighton, and chief digital officer, Mike Germano, over claims of sexual misconduct, the New York Times reports.
As of now, seven Vice staffers have faced allegations of this kind. In November, Vice suspended Jason Mojica, who ran the documentary division. A few weeks later, three unnamed Vice staffers were fired for sexual misconduct. Vice producer Rhys James was suspended in November.
The long-rumored reckoning at Vice Media is obviously unfurling. According to an internal memo released by Vice COO/CFO Sarah Broderick, both Creighton and Germano are currently being investigated. An external investigator is looking into Germano, while Vice Media’s board digs into its own president, Creighton.
Broderick added that there will be mandatory harassment training for all Vice employees and that by 2020, the goal is to have a 50/50 split of male-to-female employees. By the end of 2018, the company is committed to “pay parity.”
This is the second time Creighton has been under investigation for misconduct. Although the company settled a case against him for $135,000, he was not fired after an investigation concluded that the claim “lacked merit.” Creighton was accused of firing a woman who would not have sex with him.
Numerous media reports have claimed that Vice Media has long been known as a highly sexualized boys club, which resulted in a toxic atmosphere for its female staffers.
A New York Times report in December found 20 women who claim they have been victims of sexual harassment or have seen it take place at Vice.
Including Creighton’s suit, as of now, we know of four sexual harassment claims settled by the so-called progressive news outlet.
With the addition of Creighton and Germano, 50 members of the elite media have been accused of sexual misconduct.
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