Employers in Fashion, Finance get tough post-Weinstein

New York - The repercussions of Harvey Weinstein's downfall spread further beyond Hollywood to the worlds of fashion and finance on Tuesday as employers showed the door to powerful men accused of sexual harassment.

Accusations that the mogul engaged in years of predatory behavior shredded his career and marriage, and lifted the lid on endemic sexual harassment -- particularly by older men preying on younger women -- in Hollywood. Nearly three weeks after the accusations surfaced, a leading fashion photographer has now been blacklisted by some of the biggest magazines in the world and it has emerged that two male senior executives at a blue-chip finance company were recently dismissed for allegedly harassing associates.

Conde Nast confirmed Tuesday that it was axing Terry Richardson, a 65-year-old New York photographer known for sexually explicit images, acting now -- despite years of claims that he exploited models -- in the wake of Weinstein. In the male-dominated world of US finance, an industry source confirmed that Fidelity Investments sacked portfolio manager Robert Chow, 56, after 30 years at the firm, and Gavin Baker, 41, who ran a 16 billion US dollar tech fund.

CEO Abigail Johnson, widely considered the most powerful woman in US finance, was said to be instrumental in demanding their dismissal in recent weeks. "We simply will not, and do not, tolerate this type of behavior," Fidelity spokesman Vincent Loporchio told AFP by email. A spokesman for Baker did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Johnson, valued at 17.5 billion US dollars by Forbes, sits atop a fund that manages 6.4 trillion US dollars in assets and is a rarity in the US finance sector where nonprofit organization Catalyst says women account for only two percent of CEOs.

'Unacceptable'

The refusal by Conde Nast to publish Richardson's work is the latest indication of shrinking tolerance for powerful men accused of sexual impropriety, with actresses, models and ordinary women increasingly emboldened to speak out. Staff at London-based Conde Nast International, whose titles include Vogue, Vanity Fair and Glamour, were informed by email that work already commissioned from Richardson should be "killed or substituted."

Conde Nast US said it had "nothing planned" with Richardson. "Sexual harassment of any kind is unacceptable and should not be tolerated," it told AFP in an email. Richardson -- like Weinstein -- has insisted that all relationships were consensual. On Tuesday, a representative said he was "disappointed." The married father of two has shot campaigns for luxury fashion houses, photographed Barack Obama prior to his election as president and directed Miley Cyrus's video for her 2013 "Wrecking Ball" single in which she appeared naked.

Cyrus has since said she regrets the video. Britain's Sunday Times newspaper had questioned why Richardson was "still feted by fashionistas" despite a "reputation as the Harvey Weinstein of fashion." US model Cameron Russell last week launched an Instagram campaign called #MyJobShouldNotIncludeAbuse that swiftly garnered more than 70 anonymous accounts of abuse, lewd behaviour and harassment.

This was not an expose because nothing in these stories should be a revelation for those working in our industry. Instead it was the beginning of a power shift. We are speaking to each other, we are speaking up, we are speaking to lawyers, and we are speaking to well resourced reporters. The last 48 hours has been devastating. We know what is happening in fashion. We tolerate it and ignore it and excuse it every day. Coming face to face with so many of the people effected is opening to an impossible grief. To the magazines, agencies, clients, and editors who reached out for interviews, who commented to express solidarity and horror, who said they do not stand for sexual assault, SHOW US. Is there a hotline for freelancers to call? What are the consequences of workplace sexual harassment, assault, and violence? What will you do now? What will you do next time you are a witness? We all know who the perpetrators are and we continue to work with them. STOP. Advertisers and magazines, stop hiring these people. Agencies, stop sending them talent. Stop today. Do not wait until lawyers get involved. Do the right thing because the wrong thing is horrific. #myjobshouldnotincludeabuse

A post shared by Cameron Russell (@cameronrussell) on Oct 14, 2017 at 7:10pm PDT

Sexual advances

On Tuesday, a former production assistant became the latest of more than 50 women to accuse Weinstein, alleging that he forced himself on her at his New York home in 2006, an incident that was not reported to police and may not be prosecutable. Mimi Haleyi said Weinstein bombarded her with calls and messages, and turned up at her apartment insisting that she fly with him by private jet to Paris to watch the couture season. Each time, she said she refused.

Upon his return, she said he subjected her to sexual advances, refusing to take no for an answer and forced himself on her orally while she was on her period, apparently in a child's bedroom. "I would not have wanted anyone to do that to me even if that person had been my romantic partner. I remember Harvey afterwards rolling over onto his back and saying 'don't you feel we're so much closer to each other now?" "I replied 'no'," Haleyi told reporters.

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