Condé Nast comes out against sexual harassment
Condé Nast has issued a statement condemning sexual harassment and calling for industry-wide action as the allegations against Harvey Weinstein continues to shine a light on sexual harassment in other industries, including fashion photography and modeling.
“Condé Nast is deeply concerned by the recently surfaced allegations of sexual harassment in our industry. There are no excuses for this type of behavior; it is completely unacceptable. The company expects all employees, freelance contributors and others that Condé Nast retains to act appropriately, and with the utmost personal and professional respect for each other, when working on behalf of the company, its brands, advertisers and clients,†Condé Nast chief executive officer Bob Sauerberg and Condé Nast International chairman and ceo Jonathan Newhouse wrote in an e-mail that was sent to the company’s editors in chief, chief business officers, managing editors and digital directors Friday morning. The note was also distributed to external agencies that work with Condé Nast.
The e-mail continues:
“All employees, freelancers and independent contractors must understand the company’s expectations of appropriate behavior and treatment of others. Condé Nast also expects the agencies that represent hired talent to develop, circulate and reinforce with their clients what is and is not acceptable behavior in interacting with others, with particular emphasis on protecting people who are in vulnerable positions in their professional relationships.
“Condé Nast is committed to working with our colleagues and partners to help find solutions to the problem of all types of harassment in our industry. The company calls upon other like-minded publishers, relevant trade organizations and talent representatives to join us in this effort. To that end, we will be reaching out to the major agencies with whom the company does business to put such a program in motion.â€
Earlier this week, Condé Nast and Condé Nast International officially cut ties with fashion photographer Terry Richardson, who has been accused of sexual misconduct in the past. Other publishers and brands followed suit.
The moves against sexual harassment in fashion follow a campaign by model Cameron Russell in which she asked models to post on Instagram their experiences of being harassed in the industry. Both female and male models anonymously posted instances where they were harassed by well-known fashion photographers.
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