Dozens of former Vice workers have described the ‘toxic’ culture of sexual harassment and discrimination they were subjected to while working for the cutting edge magazine.
In a lengthy New York Times article published on Saturday, the women told of instances of drunken groping and how they had to fend off unwanted kisses from bosses whose careers they said they ruined once they rebuffed them.
Vice acknowledged the problem, telling The Times in a statement that it had failed ‘from the top down’.
The article revealed four settlements which the company has paid out to settle complaints including sexual harassment and discrimination.
Among the allegations of misconduct was one against Vice President Andrew Creighton (pictured above, left, with founder Shane Smith). Last year, Vice paid a woman $135,000 to settle her claim that he retaliated against her professionally when she rebuffed him
It includes accusations against senior Vice executives and editors who were fired before the article was published.
One woman told how she was on the Coney Island Ferris wheel after a work party with a boss when he moved her hand onto his crotch without her permission.
Another said she once had to fight a superior off with an umbrella when he tried to kiss her repeatedly.
One woman’s complaints involved an article she wrote which editors changed to say she had agreed to sleep with the rapper she was interviewing when she did not.
They changed the headline of the piece to reflect the change. It was titled: ‘I got laid but Murs didn’t.’
The writer Jessica Hopper conducted the interview with the rapper for the February 2003 issue of Vice.
He asked her on the phone: ‘When can I come to Chicago? Can we f***?’.
When she filed her story, her answer was ‘no’. It was published with the answer ‘yes’.
She won $25,000 after suing the company for defamation.
In 2016, the company paid $135,000 to a former journalist who said her career suffered when she rejected the advances of Vice President Andrew Creighton.
Her complaint related to when she worked for Vice between 2013 and 2015. When she tried to sue Vice afterwards, its lawyers responded by accusing her of initiating and then pursuing a romantic relationship with him.
Digital chief Mike Germano (left) allegedly told one woman he was reluctant to hire her because he wanted to have sex with her and pulled another employee on to his lap. Producer Rhys James (right) allegedly asked a mixed-race journalist what colors her nipples are and if she slept with black men
The same excuse was given to another woman in a separate lawsuit against a different male employee.
Earlier this year, the company gave an undisclosed sum to Martina Veltroni who said former Vice News boss Jason Mojica retaliated against her professionally when she ended their romantic relationship.
In a letter to her, Vice lawyers said she was trying to ‘recast her consensual and desired sexual relationship with her former supervisor,’ according to The Times.
Others accused him of trying to force himself on them.
Abby Ellis, a journalist who once worked for them, said he tried to kiss her against a wall in 2013 and that she had to hit him with an umbrella several times to get him to stop.
Another, Helen Donahue, claimed that he groped her breasts at a holiday party in 2015, two years later.
Martina Veltroni won an undisclosed sum after alleging sexual misconduct. She is bound by an NDA attached to the settlement and has not commented
Abby Ellis (left) claims she was told by HR to expect being hit on because she is attractive after she complained about an editor trying to kiss her against her will. When Helen Donahue (right) complained about the same editor groping her at a holiday party, she claims she was told that he was merely hitting on her and that it did not amount to sexual harassment
In 2003, writer Jessica Hopper conducted an interview with the rapper Murs. He asked her if he could sleep with her, she said no and she included the exchange in her story. Vice changed it to say she had answered ‘yes’ and made the headline: ‘I got laid but Murs didn’t’. She won a settlement of $25,000 sum from Vice afterwards
Both say they reported the incidents to HR but that they were belittled. Ellis said she was told to expect such advances because she was attractive.
Donahue claims she was told she was not being sexually harassed, she was being hit on.
Both Creighton and Mojica expressed remorse over their relative situations when contacted by The Times for Saturday’s article.
Jason Mojica, the former head of Vice News, was fired over allegations he groped and tried to kiss women
Mojica was fired before the article was published. Creighton remains in his high-ranking position.
In January 2016, Joanna Fuertes-Knight, a former journalist in Vice’s London office, won $24,000 after claiming to have been the victim of victim of sexual harassment, racial and gender discrimination and bullying.
She claimed that Rhys James, a Vice producer, asked her about the color of her nipples and whether she slept with black men.
Mike Germano, the chief digital office and head of Carrot Creative, was accused of once telling an employee he was reluctant to hire her because he wanted to have sex with her.
Another complained that he once pulled her onto his lap. He said he apologized for the latter incident and that the pair went on to remain friends.
In its statement, Vice said: ‘Listening to our employees over the past year, the truth is inescapable: from the top down, we have failed as a company to create a safe and inclusive workplace where everyone, especially women, can feel respected and thrive.
‘Cultural elements from our past, dysfunction and mismanagement were allowed to flourish unchecked. That includes a detrimental “boy’s club” culture that fostered inappropriate behavior that permeated throughout the company.
‘It happened on our watch, and ultimately we let far too many people down. We are truly sorry for this,’ founders Shane Smith and Suroosh Alvi said.
As bosses became aware that The Times was working on a piece about it, it formed a Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Board.
At its helm is Gloria Steinem, the revered feminist journalist and activist.
Vice apologized and said it had ‘failed from the top down’.Its Williamsburg, Brooklyn, office is pictured