Harvey Weinstein’s long history of alleged abuse from his position of power has instigated an unprecedented response to accusations of sexual harassment and assault. In the weeks since the initial report about Weinstein’s behavior, first published in the New York Times on October 5, the so-called “Harvey Effect” has signaled that, for the first time, the mainstream culture is open and even inclined to believe women when they come forward about harassment and assault—even if their alleged perpetrators are famous and powerful. Over a year after a large swathe of Americans shrugged off the recordings of Trump bragging about sexually assaulting women, it seems that finally the nation is waking up to the fact that harassment and assault is an epidemic warranting an aggressive and appropriate response.
This is both a galvanizing cultural moment, and a difficult one; stories that have been harbored for years and even decades are finally coming to light, sometimes multiple instances per day. For the first time, public figures who have been dogged by misconduct rumors for years are finally seeing some consequences, however small; and those brave people (mostly women, but not exclusively) publicly coming forward with misconduct accusations are experiencing some relief, if not the tiniest amount of justice.
Reaching far beyond Hollywood, though, this climate of coming forward and naming harassers and abusers has seemed to reach every aspect of the public workplace sector, including media and government. It means that there is an ever-growing number of these stories to keep track of, as consequences are slowly meted out.
This list will include new instances of accusations and aftereffects in the wake of Weinstein as they surface. Know of any local stories we may have missed? Tip us at tips@jezebel.com with the subject line “Weinstein effect.”
James Toback
Almost 300 women, including Selma Blair and Rachel McAdams, have accused Toback of using his position as a director to assault and harass them, most commonly by masturbating in front of them without their consent. Toback responded in Rolling Stone, calling the accusations “pathetic lies.”
Mark Halperin
Halperin has been accused of making sexual advances on at least eight women co-workers while employed ABC News, including rubbing his erection against them. As a result, Halperin was suspended at NBC and disinvited from returning again as a contributor at MSNBC, and Penguin decided not to continue with Halperin’s planned book on the 2016 election. Halperin responded by admitting to his behavior at ABC:
“I know I can never do enough to make up for the harm I caused,” he said. “I will be spending time with my family and friends, as I work to make amends and contributions both large and small.”
Leon Weiseltier
Former New Republic literary editor Leon Wieseltier lost funding for his new magazine, Idea, after backers discovered “past inappropriate workplace conduct.” He supposedly harassed women in the workplace, in public and private, including “sloppily kissing” his female employees. Weiseltier apologized to his collaborators for his behavior ruining their project and to the women he harassed:
“For my offenses against some of my colleagues in the past I offer a shaken apology and ask for their forgiveness,” Wieseltier said in a statement. “The women with whom I worked are smart and good people. I am ashamed to know that I made any of them feel demeaned and disrespected. I assure them that I will not waste this reckoning.”
John Besh
Celebrity chef John Besh stepped down from his restaurant company after allegations of sexual coercion with one of his employees came out, as well two dozen women reporting rampant sexual harassment within his establishments. Besh responded with a statement that implied his relationship with the former employee was consensual, and that he is focusing on his family.
Knight Landesman
The editor of Artforum stepped down after being accused of sexual harassment by nine different women, inspiring an open letter of protest against harassment and assault in the art industry.
Chris Savino
Creator of hit Nickelodeon cartoon show, The Loud House, Savino has been accused of sexual harassment by a dozen women, including a director for Bojack Horseman. He has reportedly been fired. Savino responded to the accusations with a message on Facebook:
“I am deeply sorry and ashamed,” he wrote.
“Although it was never my intention, I now understand that the impact of my actions and communications created an unacceptable environment. At every stage of my career, I have sought to uplift my colleagues and cultivate a culture of respect. In this objective, I have failed. I should have known better, I should have acted better, and this has been a difficult but valuable lesson.
“I have nothing but the deepest respect for the bravery of the women who have spoken out, trying to create an environment in which they can thrive to their fullest potential.”
Roy Price
Price quit his job as head of Amazon Studios after allegations of sexual harassment became public; Rose McGowan also implied Price was aware of her assault by Harvey Weinstein.
Bob Weinstein
TV showrunner Amanda Segel accused Bob Weinstein, brother to Harvey Weinstein, of making repeated “romantic overtures” to her while she worked for him, implying he would take away her job if she didn’t comply. Weinstein has denied the accusations through a statement from his lawyer:
“Variety’s story about Bob Weinstein is riddled with false and misleading assertions by Ms. Segel and we have the emails to prove it, but even if you believe what she says it contains not a hint of any inappropriate touching or even any request for such touching,” the attorney said. “There is no way in the world that Bob Weinstein is guilty of sexual harassment, and even if you believed what this person asserts there is no way it would amount to that.”
Lars von Trier
Artist and actress Björk claims that director Lars von Trier harassed and abused her on the set of Dancer In The Dark, which he denies, saying he was the “victim.” In November, the Guardian reported that Danish authorities have opened an investigation into reports of sexual abuse at Zentropa, von Trier’s studio, though the director himself was not named.
Oliver Stone
After coming to the defense of Harvey Weinstein, Oliver Stone was accused of assaulting a former Playboy Bunny, as well as inappropriate behavior by Patricia Arquette. Stone updated his position on Weinstein, saying he was unaware of the sheer number of women accusing him of assault and harassment, and cut ties with a project he was developing with the Weinstein company.
Ben Affleck
Affleck allegedly groped various women on the red carpet, and definitely groped a female reporter on air. The actor has apologized to some of them.
Andy Dick
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Andy Dick has been fired from his small role on indie movie Raising Buchanan for groping and licking people on set. In a phone call, Dick joked with THR that his middle name was “misconduct,” but added that though he may have licked someone goodbye, he never groped anybody:
“I don’t grope people anymore. I don’t expose myself anymore,” he said by telephone. (Also well-documented is his history of exposing his genitals in public and on stage.) “I do understand that the temperature in the world right now is delicate.”
Jeremy Piven
On Monday, reality TV personality and actress Ariane Bellamar accused Piven of groping her breasts in her trailer while on the set of Entourage. Piven has soundly denied all allegations. “I unequivocally deny the appalling allegations being peddled about me. It did not happen,” he told Deadline. Jeremy Piven’s show on CBS, Wisdom of the Crowd, has reportedly been cancelled, though the network will air the 13 episodes already filmed.
Kevin Spacey
Actor Anthony Rapp went public with allegations against actor Kevin Spacey, claiming that he made “a sexual advance” toward him in 1986, when he was 14 and Spacey was 26. Spacey released an apology for the incident; packaged within that apology was Spacey coming out. Three more men have accused Spacey of sexual harassment; in light of these allegations, production on the sixth season of House of Cards has been suspended indefinitely. Director Ridley Scott has chosen to reshoot scenes with Kevin Spacey using actor Christopher Plummer, just six months before the release of his film All The Money In The World.
Brett Ratner
Six women, including actresses Olivia Munn and Natasha Henstridge, have accused director and producer Brett Ratner of sexual misconduct or abuse. Henstridge was allegedly forced to endure oral sex with Ratner after he refused to let her leave his house. Munn first met Ratner in his trailer, where he allegedly greeted her, pantsless and masturbating. According to the Los Angeles Times, Ratner has denied all the allegations. On November 10, actress Ellen Page accused Ratner of using abusive language towards her on the set of X Men: The Last Stand in regards to her sexuality.
Dustin Hoffman
Anna Graham Hunter, a woman who interned as a production assistant on the set of the TV adaptation of Death of a Salesman when she was 17, wrote an essay for The Hollywood Reporter detailing allegations of sexual harassment against Dustin Hoffman.
He was openly flirtatious, he grabbed my ass, he talked about sex to me and in front of me. One morning I went to his dressing room to take his breakfast order; he looked at me and grinned, taking his time. Then he said, “I’ll have a hard-boiled egg … and a soft-boiled clitoris.” His entourage burst out laughing. I left, speechless. Then I went to the bathroom and cried.
Katherine Rossetter appeared with Hoffman in Death of a Salesman on Broadway and in the TV adaptation. On December 8, she wrote an essay for the Hollywood Reporter alleging that Hoffman sexually harassed her throughout the duration of the time they worked together.
One night in Chicago, I felt his hand up under my slip on the inside of my thighs. I was completely surprised and tried to bat him away while watching the stage for my cues. After the show he was busy with the producer and director so I had no access to him to address it. It then happened almost every show. Six to eight shows a week. I couldn’t speak to him in the moment because I was on a live mic. He kept it up and got more and more aggressive. One night he actually started to stick his fingers inside me. Night after night I went home and cried.
Hoffman allegedly had a nasty habit of groping.
After the shows at parties, whenever he had a picture taken with me, he would put his arm around my rib cage and then grab my breast just before they snapped the picture and then remove it. He was very skilled at dropping his hand just as the picture snapped to avoid it being recorded. But it was pre-digital. You didn’t know what was there until they were developed. Only by luck do I have one such picture — where the camera caught him in the act. A picture I had taken with hopes of sending it to my family. A millisecond in time. There I am — big smile and my arm moving toward his with the intention to push it away. But caught as it is, it seems I’m complicit with the gesture. I was not. Not ever.
On December 14, Variety reported that Hoffman has been accused of exposing himself to a minor and sexually assaulting two women:
Cori Thomas was in high school when she says Dustin Hoffman exposed himself to her in a hotel room. Melissa Kester was a recent college graduate when Hoffman allegedly sexually assaulted her while recording audio for the film “Ishtar.” A third woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said that Hoffman assaulted her in the back of a station wagon and manipulated her into a subsequent sexual encounter that left her traumatized.
Ed Westwick
Kristina Cohen, an actress in Los Angeles, posted allegations on Facebook alleging that Ed Westwick raped her in 2014, as she was waking up from a nap in his guest room.
I went and laid down in the guest room where I eventually fell asleep, I was woken up abruptly by Ed on top of me, his fingers entering my body. I told him to stop, but he was strong. I fought him off as hard as I could but he grabbed my face in his hands, shaking me, telling me he wanted to fuck me. I was paralyzed, terrified. I couldn’t speak, I could no longer move. He held me down and raped me.
Another former actress, Aurélie Wynn, has also alleged that Westwick raped her in 2014. Her account is very similar to Cohen’s; allegedly she fell asleep in a guest bedroom and Westwick held her down and raped her. Ed Westwick has denied the allegations. The BBC reports that an Agatha Christie drama starring Westwick meant to air on BBC One has been shelved pending investigations. White Gold, a BBC comedy currently streaming on Netflix, is also on hiatus.
In mid-November, a third woman came forward to accuse Westwick of sexual assault. Buzzfeed reported that Rachel Eck, a former executive assistant, said she came into contact with the actor at a private party in 2014, which she attended to hang out with her ex-boyfriend, director Kaine Harling. When he left the room, she said Westwick made unwanted advances including kissing and groping, and that Eck had to “shove him off” her.
On January 5, it was announced that Westwick would be replaced in the BBC’s Agatha Christie drama Ordeal By Innocence, according to The Hollywood Reporter. His role will be reshot in Scotland with actor Christian Cooke. The original broadcast date has been cancelled and will be rescheduled following filming.
George H.W. Bush
George H.W. Bush has been accused of groping at least five women, generally grabbing their backsides during photo ops and making some version of a joke about “David Cop-A-Feel.” He has since shared this non-apology through a spokesperson:
At age 93, President Bush has been confined to a wheelchair for roughly five years, so his arm falls on the lower waist of people with whom he takes pictures. To try to put people at ease, the president routinely tells the same joke — and on occasion, he has patted women’s rears in what he intended to be a good-natured manner. Some have seen it as innocent; others clearly view it as inappropriate. To anyone he has offended, President Bush apologizes most sincerely.
By November, at least seven women in total had come forward, including the actress Heather Lind and a woman who told CNN the then-President squeezed her behind during a photo op while he was campaigning for reelection in Dearborn, Michigan in 1992. The latter woman, who wished to remain anonymous, told CNN:
“All the focus has been on ‘He’s old.’ OK, but he wasn’t old when it happened to me,” she told CNN. “I’ve been debating what to do about it.”
Her story — remarkably similar to the accounts shared by at least six other women who said the former president groped them during photo-ops between 2003 and 2016 — is significant, because it is the first time a woman has come forward to accuse Bush of unwanted touching while he was in office.
Roy Moore
Conservative Senate candidate Roy Moore has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman named Leigh Corfman in 1979, when she was 14-years-old. He also allegedly pursued relationships with teenagers under the age of consent while in his thirties. Moore has denied the accusations, but the White House has released a statement saying that if the accusations are true, Moore should step out of the race:
Like most Americans the president believes we cannot allow a mere allegation, in this case one from many years ago, to destroy a person’s life. However, the president also believes that if these allegations are true, Judge Moore will do the right thing and step aside.
Louis C.K.
A report from the New York Times alleges that comedian Louis C.K. has non-consensually masturbated in front of at least five women, some of whom worked under his employ. Before the release of the exposé, in anticipation of damaging information within, the premiere for his film I Love You, Daddy was canceled. So was a planned appearance on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Netflix, which signed C.K. for a two stand up special deal, has decided not to produce the second special, according to Deadline:
“The allegations made by several women in The New York Times about Louis C.K.’s behavior are disturbing,” a Netflix spokesperson said in a statement. “Louis’s unprofessional and inappropriate behavior with female colleagues has led us to decide not to produce a second stand up special, as had been planned.”
C.K. has also been dropped from appearing in HBO’s autism special Night of Too Many Stars, and his previous specials have been removed form HBO’s On Demand service. He is currently “on review” at FX Networks, where he has produced four series. C.K. has issued a statement saying the allegations “are true.”
Hamilton Fish
Multiple women have come forward to say that the former editor of The New Republic harassed his colleagues, and in one instance “grabbed the neck of a high-ranking female employee.” Fish resigned in early November, writing a statement that acknowledge the accusations, though not his culpability:
“As I understand it, some employees, to my deep dismay, complained this week that my presence had led them to feel uncomfortable at The New Republic. Women have longstanding and profound concerns with respect to their treatment in the workplace. Many men have a lot to learn in this regard. I know I do, and I hope for and encourage that new direction.”
Michael Oreske
NPR’s senior vice president of news was accused of kissing women colleagues without their consent abruptly during work conversation in the 1990s, before his employment at NPR, though a complaint was also filed against him in 2015. Oreske has resigned, but NPR’s chief executive Jarl Mohn is under fire for his handling of the 2015 complaint. He has allegedly gone on a four week medical leave of absence, but NPR’s board says they will be hiring a law firm to investigate how Mohn conducted himself during the investigation.
Eddie Berganza
The longtime DC Comic editor was suspended after multiple employees formally accused him of sexual harassment. A statement from DC read, “There will be a prompt and yet careful review into next steps as it relates to the allegations against him, and the concerns our talent, employees and fans have shared.” After a brief suspension, Berganza was fired.
Andrew Kreisberg
Showrunner of The Flash and producer on multiple shows in The CW’s DC Universe franchise, Kreisberg was accused by 19 different men and women of inappropriate touching, kissing women without consent, asking for massages from female staff, and making explicit public judgments about women’s bodies. He has been suspended pending an investigation and denies all the allegations. Women in the franchise, like Melissa Benoist of Supergirl, have released statements regarding sexual harassment generally in response.
James Woods
Weeks after Amber Tamblyn accused actor James Woods of trying to pick up on her when she was just 16 and he was in his 50s, the actor Elizabeth Perkins seemed to imply that she was treated improperly by Woods. At a Los Angeles #MeToo rally, the Daily Beast reports that Perkins held a sign saying “James Woods #MeToo.”
Perkins’s sign did not specify what she meant, but the hashtag #MeToo on Twitter and at this particular rally tends to refer to solidarity and coming forward with stories about sexual harassment and assault. Jezebel has reached out to Perkins for comment and will update when we hear back.
Tom Sizemore
In 2003, Tom Sizemore was ordered off of the set of Born Killers after an 11-year-old actress told her mother that he had molested her, according to The Hollywood Reporter. When her parents declined to press charges, he returned for reshoots.
Sean Carlson
Goldenvoice, the company that created Coachella and promotes several other festivals, announced it was parting ways with Sean Carlson, the founder of Los Angeles’ FYF Festival. Two days after that announcement SPIN published a report featuring four different women who say Carlson groped them, forced them to kiss him, and other instances of inappropriate touching and sexual misconduct.
Sen. Al Franken
Leeann Tweeden, a KABC news anchor and host, accused the Senator of assaulting her in 2006. In response, Franken wrote a lengthy apology, and multiple women in Congress have called for an ethics investigation into the allegation.
Update 12/3: Franken has since been accused by four more women of inappropriate touching and one “wet, open-mouth kiss” onstage.
Jeffrey Tambor
A second accusation has made against Jeffrey Tambor for his conduct on the set of Transparent, this time by Trace Lysette, a transgender actress who said he made lewd, sexually suggestive and unwelcome remarks to her, according to Deadline. Similar allegations were made last week by his former assistant, Van Barnes, prompting Amazon to open an investigation.
Glenn Thrush
A leading Trump reporter at the New York Times, on November 20 Thrush was accused in a Vox piece by several young women reporters of sexual misbehavior, and then allegedly later trying to twist the stories with older male colleagues so that the women were blamed. The Times suspended Thrush the day the Vox story came out, and Thrush released an apology that blamed “drinking heavily” for his actions.
Charlie Rose
After allegations of sexual harassment from eight former employees or aspiring employees, the news anchor was suspended by PBS on November 20; a day later, after an initial suspension, CBS fired Rose from his post at 60 Minutes. A memo from a CBS official to employees read, “What may once have been accepted should not ever have been acceptable.”
John Lasseter
Pixar co-founder and animator John Lasseter announced on November 21 that he was taking a leave of absence from the company due to “missteps” and “painful” conversations. A following Hollywood Reporter story reported that these “missteps” included “grabbing, kissing, making comments about [the] physical attributes” of female employees at the company according to Pixar insiders and animators.
Gary Goddard
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Goddard Group has announced that writer-producer Gary Goddard is taking a leave of absence from the company following allegations of sexual assault from three men. One actor, actor Anthony Edwards, alleged that Goddard molested him when Edwards was 12 years old, and raped another underage friend. Goddard denied the allegations. His denial was followed by more accusations from actor Bret Nighman, who claimed that Goddard is a pedophile, and that he witnessed the attacked against Edwards. Mark Driscoll, another former actor, also came forward to allege Goddard had sexually abused him as a teen. Goddard’s leave of absence is “voluntary” and with no specified end point.
David Sweeney
NPR reports that its Chief News Editor David Sweeney has left the company following a formal review into allegations made by three former and current NPR staff members. A former producer alleged that Sweeney “unexpectedly kissed” her in 2002 while they were working on a story; another alleged that he tried to kiss her over drinks during which they were discussing her career. NPR editor Lauren Hodges alleged that Sweeney “repeatedly made her the recipient of unwanted attention and unsolicited gifts while he was her supervisor in a way that made her deeply uncomfortable.” These complaints against Sweeney were filed after the November 1 resignation of Michael Oreske, former senior vice president of news at NPR, following allegations of sexual misconduct.
Geoffrey Rush
An unspecified complaint was made against Geoffrey Rush at the end of his engagement at Sydney Theatre Company during a production of King Lear, a little less than two years ago. The complaint surfaced publicly after the theater was approached by a journalist, who asked if one had been filed. The theater says that the alleged victim asked for privacy, and for STC to address the issue without notifying Rush. Rush responded to the Guardian with a statement denying the allegations:
“The moment I became aware of rumours of a complaint I immediately phoned and spoke to senior management at the Sydney Theatre Company asking for clarification about the details of the statement. They refused to illuminate me with the details.
“I also asked why this information was being withheld and why, according to standard theatre practice, the issue had not been raised with me during the production via stage management, the director, my fellow actors or anyone at management level. However, no response was forthcoming.
Israel Horovitz
The Times reports that nine women have come forward to accuse playwright Israel Horovitz of sexual misconduct, including some who also described him as their mentor. The actress Maddie Corman, who starred in ‘80s teen films like Some Kind of Wonderful and Seven Minutes in Heaven, says Horovitz “forcefully kissed her” in 1986, when he was 47 and she was just 16. The other accusers say their experiences all occurred when they were between the ages of 16 and 21, and that his behavior had been reported as early as 1993, when the Boston Phoenix ran a piece about 10 women accusing him of sexual assault and harassment.
The Times:
The nine women who spoke with The Times described Mr. Horovitz as a complicated man who was, at times, a charismatic mentor and empathic friend. He taught at several universities and nurtured young writers, was generous with his wisdom and dazzled with tales of his famous friends. “He was very dynamic and a real creative force,” said Ms. Corman, the actress.
But he also preyed on them, the women said, striking in moments of vulnerability and manipulating his role as director — as auteur — to take advantage of young women who were professionally dependent on him and often working far from home.
“He was a good mentor, until he was the worst, probably most nightmarish mentor you could have,” Ms. Meinhardt said.
The relationship was complex for Ms. Meinhardt. She said that after she was raped, she continued to work for Mr. Horovitz and went to extreme lengths to avoid being alone with him. But it was impossible: He was her boss. She said she and Mr. Horovitz had sex on two other occasions — consensual, she said, “in that I didn’t say no clearly.” Like some of the other women, she stayed friendly with him for years.
Horovitz told the New York Times in a statement that he remembers the incidents differently, but that he “apologize[s] with all my heart to any woman who has ever felt compromised by my actions, and to my family and friends who have put their trust in me. To hear that I have caused pain is profoundly upsetting, as is the idea that I might have crossed a line with anyone who considered me a mentor.”
Horovitz’s famous son, Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz of the Beastie Boys, also issued a statement to the Times: “I believe the allegations against my father are true, and I stand behind the women that made them.”
The full reported piece is at the New York Times.
Shervin Pishevar
Pishevar, a powerful venture capitalist in Silicon Valley and an early investor in Uber, has been accused by six women of sexual misconduct, reports Bloomberg. One instance dates to 2014, when he allegedly attempted to put his hand up the skirt of Uber’s head of global expansion at a holiday party in front of numerous witnesses. Five other women have anonymously accused Pishevar of sexual assault or harassment, but said they fear coming forward. He was also accused of rape in 2017 in the UK, but police did not pursue the case:
Earlier this year, Pishevar got a U.K. court to prohibit a local newspaper from reporting on his arrest following a rape allegation against him. London police investigated and didn’t charge him. He later sued what he described as an opposition research firm, claiming it was trying to spread false allegations about him.
Most of the women who spoke with Bloomberg say that Pishervar exercised a “bait-and-switch” routine, in which they say that he suggested they meet to discuss career opportunities, then allege he attempted to forcibly kiss and touch them. Pishevar’s lawyer has denied the reported incident at the Uber holiday party. Earlier in November, Pishevar was involved in a high-profile court case with The Sun over his alleged rape case, which he lost, but several women who had initially agreed to be identified by Bloomberg withdrew their names after witnessing the fall-out. You can read the full story here.
Justin Huff
Huff, a long-time Broadway casting director, was fired from the Telsey + Company agency in late November after “accusations of sexual misconduct toward actors.” The New York Times reported that Huff had worked as a casting director for numerous Broadway productions, selecting actors for Kinky Boots, Newsies, On Your Feet, and The Color Purple.
Bruce Weber
A model is suing fashion photographer Bruce Weber for allegedly forcing him to touch himself during a casting session, the New York Post reports.
Jason Boyce said the incident happened in 2014 at Weber’s Manhattan studio. According to the paper:
After taking more photographs, Weber “instructed Mr. Boyce to put his hands on himself, ‘wherever you feel your energy go,’” according to court papers.
When Boyce put his hand on his chest, Weber moved it down to his groin, the suit says.
“Mr. Weber grabbed Mr. Boyce’s arm, and moved it back and forth, so that Mr. Boyce was forced to rub his own genitals,” the suit says.
Weber then moved Mr. Boyce’s hand to his own groin and put the model’s fingers in his mouth, the suit says.
Boyce recalls being “terrified and repulsed.”
The full piece is here.
Rep. John Conyers (D-Michigan)
Both Speaker Paul Ryan and Nancy Pelosi have called on Representative John Conyers, the longest-serving member of Congress with a history of civil rights activism, to resign amidst an investigation into several sexual harassment allegations, including one that he paid off a former staffer. He has stepped down as the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee for the time being.
Rep. Ruben Kihuen (D-Nevada)
A 2016 campaign staffer, who was 25 at the time, told Buzzfeed News that she resigned after Kihuen made multiple advances. She claims that he frequently commented on her looks, touched her thigh, and joked that they get a hotel room. Kihuen has apologized, and Nancy Pelosi and DCCC chairman Ben Ray Luján have called for his resignation.
The full piece is here.
Update: On December 14th, an unnamed lobbyist alleged that in 2015, Kihuen touched her thighs and buttocks and habitually harassed her in person and over text. On December 16th, Kihuen denied the allegations but announced that he will not seek re-election.
Giuseppe Castellano
Giuseppe Castellano resigned from his position as executive art director at Penguin Random House after comedian, actress, and writer Charlyne Yi accused him of sexual harassment. Yi writes that, after they went out for drinks to discuss a potential children’s book project, Castellano repeatedly suggested that he come to her hotel room. Castellano denies the story and claims that Yi “leveraged her celebrity” “in a scorched-earth manner” to defame him. Here are his resignation and her response, with email screenshots, on Twitter.
John Hockenberry
Writing for New York Magazine, journalist Suki Kim has investigated several allegations of sexual harassment against accused well-known longtime former NPR host John Hockenberry, who resigned from The Takeaway this summer. The resignation prompted Kim’s investigation, as she says he sent her frequent, suggestive “date” invitations and that he had a reputation for crossing the line. Her investigation turned up multiple accusations from Takeaway interns and producers, some saying that Hockenberry tried to kiss them and many reporting late-night messages laced with sexual innuendo.
Three women of color also accused him of hostile behavior. African-American journalist Farai Chideya claims that he called her a “diversity hire” and told her to “lose weight.” She tells Kim that she reported the incident but no action was taken. “All these decisions have consequences,” she said. “Public radio doesn’t become more diverse if you keep protecting people who abuse women of color, or just women.”
Hockenberry issued a statement to New York Magazine admitting that his behavior was “not always appropriate” and that he has “no excuses.”
Read the full report here.
James Levine
The conductor of the Metropolitan Opera was suspended Sunday following sexual abuse accusations from three men, citing incidents that allegedly occurred when they were teens, beginning in 1968. The New York Times reports:
Peter Gelb, the general manager of the Met, announced that the company was suspending its four-decade relationship with Mr. Levine, 74, and canceling his upcoming conducting engagements after learning from The New York Times on Sunday about the accounts of the three men, who described a series of similar sexual encounters beginning in the late 1960s. The Met has also asked an outside law firm to investigate Mr. Levine’s behavior.
“While we await the results of the investigation, based on these news reports the Met has made the decision to act now,” Mr. Gelb said in an interview, adding that the Met’s board supported his actions. “This is a tragedy for anyone whose life has been affected.”
Levine declined to comment to the Times, but the paper reported that “speculation surrounding Mr. Levine’s private life has swirled in classical music circles for decades as he rose to a position of unprecedented prominence at the Met.” This included a letter sent to Met officials in 1979 detailing “unspecified allegations,” and contact with Lake Forest Police in October 2016 detailing a report filed by Ashok Pai, one of Levine’s current accusers, who says Levine began sexually abusing him in 1986 when he was 16 years old:
Mr. Gelb said that he briefed the board’s leadership and that Mr. Levine denied the accusations. The company took no further action, waiting to see what the police determined. Then, on Saturday, the Met decided to investigate Mr. Levine after media inquiries about his behavior with young men.
The full report is at the Times.
UPDATE 12/10: Illinois prosecutors have announced that they will not bring criminal charges against Levine, citing insufficient evidence, that the accusations did not include “allegations of force,” and changes in the age of consent since the alleged abuse. Levine has yet to comment. Read the report on ABC.
Danny Masterson
Danny Masterson has been accused of rape by four women, during the early 2000s. All the alleged victims were fellow Scientologists, who claim they were pressured by the church not to report Masterson, as going to the authorities about another member is considered a “high crime.” An investigation into Masterson only opened in early 2017, and has been moving slowly. It was reported that a Netflix executive said the network did not believe Masterson’s accusers to one of the victims at a children’s soccer game, when she confronted him about the actor’s continued presence on their show, The Ranch. HuffPost reports that just a few days later, Netflix announced Masterson has been written out of The Ranch:
“As a result of ongoing discussions, Netflix and the producers have written Danny Masterson out of ′The Ranch.′ Yesterday was his last day on the show, and production will resume in early 2018 without him,” a Netflix spokesman said.
Masterson denies all accusations and says that any encounters were consensual.
An update, December 21: US Magazine reports that on December 20, Masteron’s ex, Bobbette Riales alleged on Twitter that she had also been raped by Masterson, writing, “I stayed quiet long enough. Danny Masterson repeatedly raped me. All I seek is justice and to prevent this from ever happening to anyone else as it has for some time. My truth will be heard.”
Riales tagged Chrissie Bixler, one of the original women to come forward with accusations against Masterson. Riales is the fifth accuser against Masterson.
Lorin Stein
Lorin Stein, editor of the storied Paris Review, resigned from the literary magazine on Wednesday, December 6. In a letter of resignation sent the board, and reported by the New York Times, he apologized for his behavior. “At times in the past, I blurred the personal and the professional in ways that were, I now recognize, disrespectful of my colleagues and our contributors, and that made them feel uncomfortable or demeaned,” Stein wrote. “I am very sorry for any hurt I caused them.”
Stein was included on the “Shitty Media Men” list and an internal investigation of his behavior was launched shortly afterward. At least two women had made complaints to Paris Review’s board. The Times reports that in his letter, Stein:
[...] acknowledged dating and expressing interest in women with whom he professional connections, including interns and writers for the magazine, conduct that he acknowledged was “an abuse of my position.” He told the board that he had occasionally engaged in sexual behavior in the office after hours, but said that in all instances, the sexual contact was consensual and had happened when he was single.
Bryan Singer
A lawsuit filed in Washington State court on Thursday, December 7 against Bryan Singer alleges that the X-Men director and producer sexually assaulted a 17-year-old boy on a yacht in 2003.
The plaintiff, Cesar Sanchez-Guzman, claims in the lawsuit that he met Singer in 2003 at a party on a yacht, during which Singer offered to give him a tour of the premises. Singer then allegedly “lured Cesar into a room, shut the door and demanded that Cesar perform oral sex. When [Sanchez-Guzman] refused, Bryan Singer forced him into acts of oral and anal sex.” The lawsuit states that Sanchez-Guzman was a minor at the time of the alleged attack.
Alex Kozinski
The influential U.S. 9th Circuit Court Judge Alex Kozinski has been accused by six former clerks and junior staffers of sexual harassment. Two women claim that he asked them to watch porn in his chambers.
Heidi Bond wrote on her site that while she clerked for Kozinski, he would frequently make sexual comments like asking her several times if an image of a half-naked college party turned her on. Law professor Emily Murphy has said that he told her in public that she should “work out naked.” Law professor Joanna Grossman tweeted that his “disrespect for women is legendary,” and that Kozinski once “sent a memo to all the judges suggesting that a rule prohibiting female attorneys from wearing push-up bras would be more effective than the newly convened Gender Bias Task Force.”
Jon Heely
Disney’s director of music publishing Jon Heely was arrested in November on three charges of child sexual abuse. Variety reported that Heely, who has been with Disney since 1981, has been accused of abusing two girls, one aged 15 and the other from when she was 11 years old until she was 15.
“Immediately upon learning of this situation tonight, he has been suspended without pay until the matter is resolved by the courts,” a spokesperson for Disney said.
Heely has since been released on $150,000 bail, according to inmate records.
Read the full report in Variety.
David Cassidy
Former model, Samantha Fox has alleged that deceased actor David Cassidy, known for his role in the musical sitcom “The Partridge Family,” followed her into a restaurant bathroom, slid his hand up her skirt, and groped her breast in 1985, when she was 19.
“When he grabbed me and pushed his tongue down my throat, I just kneed him in the b—ks,” she told the Daily Star.
She also claims that Cassidy repeatedly pressed his boner on her while they were shooting a scene in one of his music videos, in which she was topless and he held her from behind.
Cassidy died in November from liver failure.
Read the full report here.
Matt Dababneh
Sacramento-based lobbyist Pamela Lopez has accused California Democratic Assemblyman Matt Dababneh of following her into a bathroom, masturbating in front of her, and telling her to touch him in 2016. Former employee Jessica Yas Barker also alleged that he often made sexist comments and told her about his sex life while she worked in the same office between 2009 and 2010.
Four days after the allegations were made, Dababneh announced his resignation, though he denies the “salacious headlines” and has agreed to participate in an Assembly investigation into Lopez’s claim. He wrote in his resignation letter that it would be difficult to work productively in the “current environment” and told the Los Angeles Times:
My stepping down isn’t out of guilt or out of fear. It’s out of an idea that I think it’s time for me to move on to new opportunities.
Read the full report in the Los Angeles Times.
Alex Kozinski
Famed US Court of Appeals Judge Alex Kozinski has been accused by a former clerk of sexual harassment, according to the Washington Post. Heidi Bond worked for Kozinski from 2006 to 2007 and alleges that he called her into his office a number of times to show her porn on his computer. He would then ask “if she thought it was photoshopped or if it aroused her sexually.” She is one of six women who has come forward to say that Kozinski subjected them to sexually explicit images without their consent. Kozinski offered this statement to the Post:
“I have been a judge for 35 years and during that time have had over 500 employees in my chambers. I treat all of my employees as family and work very closely with most of them. I would never intentionally do anything to offend anyone and it is regrettable that a handful have been offended by something I may have said or done.”
You can read the full report here.
Mario Batali
Celebrity chef Mario Batali has been accused by four women of sexual harassment, according to a report from Eater. Much of the alleged harassment took place at his West Village restaurant Pó, and included groping, bra-snapping, and aggressive bear hugs from behind for female employees. The restaurant industry’s exploitative power structures are used as an explanation for why such a culture of harassment would persist, to the point where managers were warned to leave the waitresses alone since they’d “been through hell” with Batali. The chef has released a long apology, admitting that “the behavior described does, in fact, match up with ways I have acted.” He has also stepped away from his restaurant group and his work as co-host on The Chew, pending investigations.
Ryan Lizza
In a brief statement, the New Yorker said that it has “severed ties” with reporter Ryan Lizza for “improper sexual conduct.” The magazine did not elaborate on the nature of Lizza’s conduct, only adding that “Due to a request for privacy, we are not commenting further.” Shortly after the New Yorker’s announcement, Lizza said in a statement that he is “dismayed that the New Yorker has decided to characterize a respectful relationship with a woman I dated as somehow inappropriate.” The decision, Lizza added, “was made hastily and without a full investigation of the relevant facts.” He characterized the New Yorker’s decision as a “terrible mistake.”
In follow-up statement released by Wigdor LLP, which says it is representing the anonymous victim, and denies Lizza’s characterization that they were involved in a “respectful relationship.”
Russell Simmons
In late November, screenwriter Jenny Lumet published an essay detailing allegations of sexual assault by Russell Simmons, which came after a series of accusations against Simmons and his friend Brett Ratner.
In a December 13 report from the New York Times, four women went on record to accuse Simmons of rape. Drew Dixon alleged she was subjected to extreme sexual harassment while working as an executive assistant at Def Jam Records in 1995, and claimed she was raped by Simmons in his apartment that same year. Singer Tina Baker said she was raped by Simmons in the early 1990s when he acted as her manager. And music journalist Toni Sallie alleged she was raped by Simmons in 1988, after he invited her to a party as his apartment. When she arrived, she said, he was the only person there. Another woman named Christina Moore claimed Simmons assaulted her after leading her and friend back to his hotel room.
Simmons denied all the rape and assault accusations to the NYT in a statement:
“I vehemently deny all these allegations. These horrific accusations have shocked me to my core and all of my relations have been consensual.”
He added: “I have enormous respect for the women’s movement worldwide and their struggle for respect, dignity, equality and power.”
You can read the rest of the report here.
According to TMZ, two more women filed police reports in late December with the NYPD against Simmons. One is Sherri Hines, who says Simmons raped her in his office in 1983. The second woman remains anonymous, and states he raped her in 1991 after a date. She alleges that when they sat together on a couch couch at his apartment, he tried to remove her dress, then assaulted her. This makes 14 women who have come forward to accuse Simmons of sexual misconduct. He is currently under investigation by the NYPD over seven claims.
Tavis Smiley
PBS talk show host Tavis Smiley was suspended by the network on Wednesday, Variety reports. The network gave an official statement, and also shared that the investigation into Smiley involved ten former staffers, both male and female, who came forward with allegations of misconduct:
“Effective today, PBS has indefinitely suspended distribution of ‘Tavis Smiley,’ produced by TS Media, an independent production company,” the public broadcaster said. “PBS engaged an outside law firm to conduct an investigation immediately after learning of troubling allegations regarding Mr. Smiley. This investigation included interviews with witnesses as well as with Mr. Smiley. The inquiry uncovered multiple, credible allegations of conduct that is inconsistent with the values and standards of PBS, and the totality of this information led to today’s decision.”
Smiley denied all the allegations in a video message posted to social media, though he did hint there may be some history of consensual relationships in the past. He claimed that the PBS investigation was only implemented when the network was threatened with a lawsuit, calling it “biased and sloppy.”
“To be clear, I have never groped, coerced or exposed myself inappropriately to any workplace colleague in my entire broadcast career, covering six networks over 30 years,” Smiley said, adding, “This has gone too far. And I, for one, intend to fight back.”
Morgan Spurlock
Morgan Spurlock announced on Twitter that he has in the past been accused of rape by a woman with whom he believed he just had a one-night stand. He also admitted to settling a sexual harassment lawsuit eight years ago with a former assistant whom he verbally abused, calling her “hot pants” or “sex pants” to get her attention. In his essay on the subject, Spurlock wondered if his behavior can be attributed to being sexually abused as a child, and a drinking problem that has been a part of his life since he was 13. You can read it here.
Terry Richardson
Well-circulated, preexisting allegations about celebrity photographer Terry Richardson, known for eroticizing models in flash-bulb photos, have been corroborated by new accusations of sexual assault. In 2010, model Jaimie Peck wrote in The Gloss that Richardson had asked her to take her tampon out “for him to play with” and coerced him to give her a hand job while his assistants watched. In 2014, writing for Jezebel, model Anna del Gaizo recounted him pressing his penis to her mouth and asking her for a blowjob in front of his assistant, who took pictures. More recently, on December 13th, model and designer Lindsay Jones told HuffPost that he invited her to his apartment where he immediately cornered her, forced her to get on the floor, and ejaculated in her mouth. On December 14th, the New York Daily News published a claim from model Caron Bernstein, who says that in 2003 Richardson forced his penis into her mouth during a photo shoot. Terry Richardson has denied all allegations.
Gene Simmons
On December 15th, an anonymous radio personality at a local station filed a lawsuit against Kiss frontman Gene Simmons for sexual battery and several other counts, the San Bernardino Sun reports. The suit alleges that throughout an on-camera interview promoting the new San Bernardino Rock & Brews (for which Simmons is a “global spokesperson”; is also a defendant), he “forcefully placed [her hand] on his knee and held it on his knee” and “turned standard interview questions into sexual innuendos.” The suit claims he then “forcibly flicked/struck” her throat for no apparent reason. It alleges that he grabbed her buttocks during promotional photos following the interview.
On December 17th, Simmons denied the allegations in a tweet:
I intend to defend myself against any alleged charges you may have been reading about in the media. For the record, I did not assault the person making these accusations in the manner alleged in the complaint or harm her in any way. I am conferring with my lawyers with the aim of vigorously countering these allegations. And I look forward to my day in court where the evidence will prove my innocence.
The suit is filed just a month after the Daily Beast reported that Fox News banned Simmons for life after he ran into a staff meeting, ripped open his shirt, shouted “hey chicks, sue me!” and “bopped” two female employees on the head with his book, belittling their intelligence.
TJ Miller
The Daily Beast reports that a former classmate has publicly accused the Silicon Valley/Office Christmas Party actor of sexually assaulting her when they were attending George Washington University in the early 2000s. The woman, who chose to remain anonymous, says that when they were in a relationship, Miller crossed the bounds of their initially consensual encounters, and accuses him of punching, choking, and raping her:
“He pulled me back to bed and more things happened,” Sarah said. “He anally penetrated me without my consent, which I actually believe at that point I cried out, like, ‘No,’ and he didn’t continue to do that—but he also had a [beer] bottle with him the entire time. He used the bottle at one point to penetrate me without my consent.”
During the incident, Sarah said she “froze.” She says she “wasn’t prepared” for what had happened and that she “didn’t want to believe it was happening.”
The Daily Beast corroborated the woman’s story with multiple former classmates who said she informed them of the incident at the time, and that they recall seeing visible bruises on her person. She eventually reported the incidents to university officials and testified in student court.
Miller and his wife, Kate, said in a joint statement to the Beast that the woman “began again to circulate rumors online once [my and Kate’s] relationship became public. Sadly she is now using the current climate to bandwagon and launch these false accusations again... It is unfortunate that she is choosing this route as it undermines the important movement to make women feel safe coming forward about legitimate claims against real known predators.” They also wrote:
“We met this woman over a decade ago while studying together in college, she attempted to break us up back then by plotting for over a year before making contradictory claims and accusations,” the Millers wrote.
“She was asked to leave our university comedy group because of worrisome and disturbing behavior, which angered her immensely, she then became fixated on our relationship, and began telling people around campus ‘I’m going to destroy them’ and ‘I’m going to ruin him,’” the statement continued.
The woman denied these counterclaims. Read the full story at The Daily Beast.
Ethan Kath
In October, Crystal Castles member Ethan Kath (real name Claudio Palmieri) was accused of abuse by former bandmate Alice Glass, who said it started when she was just a teenager. The Daily Beast now reports the musician is being investigated for sex crimes by the Toronto police, with one source telling the outlet the investigation involves several women:
The Daily Beast has been in contact with an accuser involved in the investigation, who said that Kath first reached out to her on social media when she was 15, and initiated a sexual relationship when she was 16. She is remaining anonymous for now so as not to impede the investigation, but says, “I want this guy’s insane horrible mistreatment of underage girls to be out in the open for everyone to know and to protect themselves.”
Paul Haggis
After a publicist filed a civil lawsuit against Paul Haggis for raping her, three more anonymous women have come forward with allegations of assault and misconduct against the director, occurring between 1996 and 2015. Speaking with the AP, all of the women alleged Haggis tried to kiss them and two women say that when they fought back he became more aggressive and raped them.
Nelly
A woman named Monique Green is suing Nelly for defamation and sexual assault. Green alleges that Nelly raped her on his tour bus in October 2017. Two other women are named in the complaint, both of whom are accusing the rapper of sexual assault. Jane Doe 1 alleges that Nelly put his hand under her skirt in a VIP room without her consent; Jane Doe 2 alleges that Nelly invited her and some friends onto his tour bus, took her into a separate room, began masturbating in front of her without her consent, and later placed her hand on his penis and forced her to perform oral sex.
David Copperfield
The magician David Copperfield has been accused of drugging and sexually assaulting a teen model in 1988. Brittney Lewis was 17 when she met Copperfield at a “Look of the Year” modeling contest in Atami, Japan. He was one of the judges but took a liking to Lewis and invited her to a show in California after the competition. Lewis alleges that Copperfield slipped something into her drink that made her black out; she remembers Copperfield allegedly taking her clothes off and kissing her, but she blacked out again. In the morning, Lewis said Copperfield assured her that “nothing happened” because she was underage; he also reportedly told her that he didn’t “enter” her.
Aaron Bondaroff
Aaron Bondaroff, a New York-based art dealer who was also known as “A-Ron the Downtown Don” as an early ambassador for streetwear label Supreme, has been accused of sexual assault and harassment by three women, reports Artnet News. In the wake of the allegations, Bondaroff has resigned from Moran Bondaroff, the Los Angeles gallery he co-founded.
The accusations against Bondaroff began when Canadian singer Dana Wright posted a text exchange between Bondaroff and a mutual friend named Jeff Potocar to Instagram, which was verified by Artnet. In their back and forth, Bondaroff appeared to acknowledge a “violation” against Wright. She claimed Bondaroff groped her and ripped her clothing after agreeing to drive her home, then said he would help her with her career in exchange for her silence:
“The whole thing was very violent,” she contended. She was wearing a one-piece bodysuit and claims that he ripped it, shoved his hand down the front, and aggressively groped her. “I tried to grab his arm and he wouldn’t budge. It was rock solid,” she said. He tried to convince her to go back inside the gallery but she refused.
DJ and photographer Musa Alves told Artnet she had an encounter with Bondaroff after he invited her on his radio show on Know-Wave, his radio network and clothing label. He invited her to his house, and when she arrived, she said, he kissed her against her will. She said she tried to convince him to leave the apartment, but he kept suggesting they buy BDSM gear together. (BDSM is a theme of Alves’s work.)
“He kept trying to force himself on me and I was like, ‘Why don’t we try to go somewhere,’ and he kept saying, ‘Yeah, I’ll buy you stuff [at the sex shop]’. It was a broken record.”
She said she eventually left. A third, anonymous woman artist told Artnet she met with Bondaroff for what she thought was a work opportunity, but alleges it “quickly became an unwanted sexual encounter.” In his resignation letter, Bondaroff claimed all of these encounters were consensual, but the accusations have given him “the opportunity to reexamine my behavior in all my past relationships.”
This list will be updated.