One of the most beloved writers in the television industry has shown her support for the woman accusing Matthew Weiner of sexual harassment in a powerful post.
Marti Noxon, the Emmy-nominated writer for shows including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, UnReal and Mad Men, said she was working with Kater Gordon around the time she claims Weiner made his inappropriate remark.
‘I believe her. 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,’ wrote Noxon in a series of tweets.
‘Responding to her statement, Matt claimed he would never make that kind of comment to a colleague. But anyone with an even cursory knowledge of the show Mad Men could imagine that very line coming from the mouth of Pete Campbell.’
She then wrote: ‘Matt, Pete’s creator, is many things. He is devilishly clever and witty, but he is also, in the words of one of his colleagues, an “emotional terrorist” who will badger, seduce and even tantrum in an attempt to get his needs met.’
Gordo, a former assistant to Weiner, claimed her boss made an inappropriate remark to her after he brought her on to co-write the second season finale of the show.
‘He told me that I owed it to him to let him see me naked,’ Gordon told The Information of the request Weiner made to her while the two were working on the script for ‘Meditations In an Emergency.’
Support system: Marti Noxon (left) was working on Mad Men at the time time that Kater Gordon (right) claims she was harassed by show creator Matthew Weiner
Voicing her opinion: She is now stating that she believes and supports Gordon in a powerful post on social media
Weiner did not get to see Gordon naked, but he did get some Emmy-winning work out of the talented young writer, who he eventually fired just a few months after the pair wee honored by the Television Academy.
When the two won the Emmy, Weiner rushed to the stage ahead of his former assistant and started off his speech by stating: ‘Only one of us is allowed to speak so I’m going to speak for the both of us.’
Gordon, who was 27 at the time, had never won an Emmy while Weiner was picking up his sixth trophy.
She said that she did her best to dismiss the comment at the time and continued to work on the script, feeling that it would be a ‘lose-lose situation to report anything at the time.
‘I thought, “I can’t do anything to jeopardize.” I need this credit. I saw no value to speaking out,’ said Gordon.
‘So I did what I thought women were supposed to do.’
Gordon was made a staff writer for the third season of the show, but according to one other person on the writing staff seemed ‘subdued.’
Added that individual, who asked to remain anonymous: ‘I could see her confidence was shaken.’
It is unclear if that source may have been Noxon, who on Friday wrote: ‘This personality type can not help but create an atmosphere where everyone is constantly off guard and unsure where they stand. It is the kind of atmosphere where a comment like “you owe it to me to show me your naked body” may – or may not – be a joke. And it may — or may not — lead to a demotion or even the end of a career.’
That atmosphere impacted the environment at work for everyone said Noxon, who next addressed why no one said anything at the time.
‘Well, for one, we were grateful to him for the work and truly in awe of his talents,’ wrote Noxon.
‘For another, it was hard to know what was real when moods and needs shifted so frequently. Self-advocacy is important and I agree we all need to do it more and rely on less on faulty institutions to do it for us but it is very difficult when the cost is, at best, fear and uncertainty – and at worst the loss of a job and ruined reputation. Taking that action is one thing to contemplate if you have money in the bank and family to fall back on but quite another for people from all walks of life without a safety net.’
She then closed out by stating: ‘And when sexual favors are lightly added to the bag of tools one might use to stay employed and valued, it can be destabilizing or even devastating.
‘It may not be illegal, but it is oppressive. I witnessed it and, despite the fact that that I was a senior consultant on the show, I also experienced it in my own way in my days at Mad Men.’
Trophy: Kater Gordon rose up the ranks to become Mathhew Weiner’s writing assistant and then a Mad Men writer after starting as a personal assistant (Gordon and Weiner in 2009)
Betty gets a bang: When she was 27 she was selected to write the second season finale of the show alongside Weiner (January Jones in the episode Meditations on an Emergency above)
Doing good: Gordon has now started Modern Alliance, a nonprofit to help victims of sexual harassment
Gordon herself said she had trouble trying to ‘divorce’ her boss from the comment.
She was soon fired by Weiner ahead of season four of the show, at which point she decided to leave the industry.
‘I felt excited to be able to be so close to making — what I thought at the time — was such a great show. And he championed me. It was extremely satisfying,’ said Gordon of her initial excitement.
That all changed during season three though according to Gordon.
‘He told me I was terrible at everything, from my work in the writers room to on set,’ she said of Weiner.
The Mad Men creator dismissed the claims in a statement from his rep.
‘Mr. Weiner spent eight to ten hours a day writing dialogue aloud with Miss Gordon, who started on Mad Men as his writers assistant,’ reads the statement.
‘He does not remember saying this comment nor does it reflect a comment he would say to any colleague. During the nine years he was showrunner on Mad Men, Mr. Weiner had a predominantly female driven writers room.’
It went on to state: ‘He has long believed in and implemented an egalitarian working environment including the highest levels of production and writing based on mutual respect for all.’
His decision to fire Gordon did cause quite a bit of a stir, with Gawker the first to jump at the news.
Nikki Finke then squashed that story by speaking to a writer she claimed was close to both Gordon and Weiner who said: ‘She totally got the show and deserved the break she got. There was NOTHING illicit in her relationship with Matt.’
Gordon would dispute that claim.
She has now started Modern Alliance, a nonprofit to help victims of sexual harassment.
‘Our culture is shifting as courageous people come forward to challenge those who abuse their power. But solutions are still lacking,’ reads the Modern Alliance website.
Victims without wealth or public influence remain silent, fearing for their reputations, their jobs, and potential retaliation. Others are uninformed or overwhelmed, and they have no idea what to do.’
That is followed by ‘enough is enough ‘in bolded letters ans the statement: ‘Everyone deserves a safe workplace where they can excel by their own merit.’