Warned by Public Advocate: Homosexual PinkNews Outlet Bosses Accused Of Years of Sexual Misconduct
"Ironic that the accused sex abusers will use the same exact legal defense that Public Advocate warned about years ago in Supreme Court legal briefs and that this same Pink News attacked. So while they were alledgedly abusing their staff for years, acting like Harvey Weinstein, they were mocking and attacking the group warning about this being done to victims -- which include their employees, " says Eugene Delgaudio, president of Public Advocate.
More than 30 former and present employees have accused a married couple, who own one of the biggest LGBTQ+ media companies in the world, of sexual misconduct and sexual assault.
PinkNews' founder and CEO, Benjamin Cohen, and his husband, chief operations officer Anthony James, are accused of acting sexually inappropriate towards male staff members.
Cohen founded PinkNews in 2005, and it was a major player in the UK's "fight for gay marriage equality."
According to BBC, more than 30 current and former employees have stated that they believe their inappropriate actions were partly due to the company's "heavy drinking culture."
According to witnesses, Cohen invited a male staff member to come "back to his" place while slapping another male employee on the buttocks during a Christmas party. Additionally, James allegedly kissed and felt up a junior employee who was intoxicated after a business function.
It has also been alleged that certain female employees were asked to serve as the couple's surrogates.
The BBC was told by Cohen's and James's representatives that "the accusations are untrue."
According to the BBC, in their documentary "PinkNews: Behind Closed Doors," which was made available for viewing on iPlayer on Tuesday, BBC employees spoke with 33 employees who worked for PinkNews between 2017 to 2024, with some being current employees.
COPY OF BRIEF FILED BY PUBLIC ADVOCATE WARNING OF HARVEY WEINSTEIN DEFENSE