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‘Unsafe and Just Plain Dirty’: Women Accuse Vice of ‘Toxic’ Sexual-Harassment Culture

spam musubi

spam musubi

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,381
https://www.thedailybeast.com/unsaf...ccuse-vice-of-toxic-sexual-harassment-culture

The Daily Beast talked to more than a dozen former and current employees about the culture for women inside Vice Media. They spoke of harassing behavior and company indifference.
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Though her job hadn't technically started yet, her boss, then-Editor in Chief Jason Mojica, invited her to join the team at the L.A. Press Club Awards. After accepting an award for public service in journalism, the team from Vice—including Mojica and Kaj Larsen, the bureau chief who had hired Barghouty—celebrated with drinks. By the end of the night, Barghouty says a very drunk Larsen had brought up sex (musing about his chances with a group of "black girls" at the bar), asked her for a ride home, then passed out in her car.
...
Barghouty says within her first few weeks on the job, Larsen was asking her to meet him at his home in Venice Beach. She thought it was strange, but he was her boss so she complied. As she waited outside his house, she texted a friend her location—"like how you tell a friend before a Tinder date in case you get murdered"—when a shirtless Larsen walked up and told her to come wait inside his bungalow while he took a shower.

...

Months into her new job, Barghouty says she went to a human-resources representative to voice her concern about the touching and the parties. "When it comes to talent, we can't really tell them what to do," Barghouty said she recalls being told. "They bring in the money and attention and you just have to deal with it." (The representative disputes this account.)
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The Daily Beast spoke with more than a dozen former and current Vice employees in recent weeks about the culture for women inside Vice Media—and they painted a picture of harassing behavior and company indifference.

...

Vice issued a statement to The Daily Beast that read: "The nature of Vice's content runs the gamut, from travelogues and news series to more provocative programming like our shows exploring drug culture, Weediquette and Bong Appétit. A non-traditional workplace agreement is often used by companies to certify employees' comfort with content that could be considered edgy. However, it does not in any way sanction conduct that is disrespectful or biased, and we will investigate all allegations of such behavior, including any incidents where employees purportedly attempted to justify their conduct through the agreement. We have immediately begun reviewing this matter."
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There's a lot more to the article, like how they make employees sign a non-traditional workplace agreement that prevents them from expressing offense at what goes on at the workplace, and using that to justify harassing behavior. There's accounts from other women, corroboration, and overall a very dirty picture being painted of the work environment.

Update: Vice Union posted this, which was also shared by Waypoint members:

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Update 2: waypoint posted this:

Patrick Klepek said:
As hoped for, we fought to say something stronger. Here it is:

https://waypoint.vice.com/en_us/article/43nm3n/a-statement-from-waypoint
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Funny Valentine

Funny Valentine

Banned
Nov 1, 2017
2,904
That statement advertising their drug media content while also attempting to apologize, wow. Vice always struck me as a site full of edgy dipshits so this sadly does not surprise me.
 
hansel

hansel

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
454
Vice was created, in part by Gavin McInnes. Are people surprised that there are shitty people there?

Wolf in sheep's clothing.
 
legacyzero

legacyzero

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
4,252
VICE, of all things? It's always seemed a bit... off to me. I guess I'm not that shocked, honestly
 
theDream

theDream

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
262
Vice frequently seemed a bit too Bill Maherish for my tastes. They also have lots of great content, but there is something off.
 
Phil

Phil

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
227
I want to see vice do a documentary on vice itself.
not surprising at all sadly
 
Geist

Geist

Prophet of Truth
Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
4,580
Sad, but not entirely surprising. It's always seemed like they were on the edge of going too far in their content.
 
OP
OP
spam musubi

spam musubi

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,381
If waypoint want to have any credibility with respect to their message, they have to cover this, and even protest this. If not, then they have no leg to stand on.
 
hansel

hansel

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
454
Of course Wyapoint won't cover this. It has nothing to do with Video Games. Patrick should condemn these actions and maybe even quit.
 

TheWickedSoul

Member
Oct 26, 2017
1,156
It's not surprising coming from Vice but kinda funny because what their employees stand for, like against sexual harassment/assault.
 
Trained Rage

Trained Rage

Banned
Nov 12, 2017
819
I don't think this will stop me from watching those highly entertaining docu-films they do. Show me a workplace without sexual harassment and I will show you a liar.
 
StrawberryJam

StrawberryJam

Member
Oct 29, 2017
4,702
hansel said:
Of course Wyapoint won't cover this. It has nothing to do with Video Games. Patrick should condemn these actions and maybe even quit.
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But it has everything to do with them, it's their parent company and they're very clear about their stance on these things. I'd be honestly disappointed in them if they didn't talk about it.
 
SageShinigami

SageShinigami

Member
Oct 27, 2017
30,476
I seem to recall a report a while back from a writer who claimed that they were barely being paid properly working for VICE. If a place can't pay its people fairly you can make a fair assumption that everything else is shitty there too, so...no surprise?
 

Deleted member 8197

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
1,340
I mean it's VICE, anybody surprised?

Who can forget such classic articles as 'How much ketamine should I do before sexually harassing someone?'
 
IfSleepoversCouldTalk

IfSleepoversCouldTalk

Banned
Oct 24, 2017
2,420
For everyone expecting Waypoint to cover this: they probably have lawyers talking to them right now about what they are legally allowed to say.
 
OP
OP
spam musubi

spam musubi

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,381
MiraculousSwidge said:
For everyone expecting Waypoint to cover this: they probably have lawyers talking to them right now about what they are legally allowed to say.
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Obviously, but that's the thing, isn't it? Do you prioritize your morals or do you let the lawyers silence you? Are they willing to put their own well being in jeopardy? They congratulated IGN staff for taking a stance.
 
Tesseract

Tesseract

Banned
Nov 11, 2017
2,646
vice got bad when gavin mcinnes and shane smith split. i know gavin is a love or hate personality, but the man knew how to run things.
 
jakoo

jakoo

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,112
Funny Valentine said:
After all of Austin and Patrick's moralizing on Twitter about many non-video game subjects they would be huge fucking hypocrites to be silent about this.
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I mean, they might be legally prevented per their employer contract to do so, but considering how much they applauded IGN Editors for basically doing this same thing, I would hope they would follow suit.
 
Chumley

Chumley

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
4,651
Waypoint probably can't cover this for legal reasons. I have no doubt they want to, though.
 
Funny Valentine

Funny Valentine

Banned
Nov 1, 2017
2,904
jakoo said:
I mean, they might be legally prevented per their employer contract to do so, but considering how much they applauded IGN Editors for basically doing this same thing, I would hope they would follow suit.
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If they do nothing then they are showing their asses as principled cowards, there's not much else you can say.
 
Slayven

Slayven

Never read a comic in his life
Moderator
Oct 25, 2017
93,197
Didn't vice have the dude that was best buddies with Milo over their women's section?
 
zeitgeist

zeitgeist

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,060
I had a feeling this would happen eventually. The YouTube video of Shane Smith strolling around the office naked after they got some amount of subscribers was a bit of a red flag.
 
Kill3r7

Kill3r7

Member
Oct 25, 2017
24,450
In the scale of aggregious behavior that we have read about lately in this is pretty tame. Looking forward to seeing Waypoint's take on it.
 
Dude Abides

Dude Abides

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,382
A media company with a bro-y edgelord vibe having this kind of thing going on is the least surprising thing of the week.
 
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