The Guardian: The public relations firm behind some of the world’s most progressive organizations has dramatically closed after its founder and figurehead received what one staffer described as “an avalanche” of complaints about sexual harassment and assault by his employees.
Trevor FitzGibbon, a major figure in the communications industry, who counts among his clients Amnesty International, MoveOn, the American Civil Liberties Union and WikiLeaks, confirmed in an emailed statement that the company bearing his name was closing after complaints about him.
“The allegations against me are a distraction to the mission at hand,” FitzGibbon said. The public relations expert, who has been on leave of absence since complaints first emerged, added: “it is abundantly clear that an irreconcilable difference has arisen between the FitzGibbon team and me”.
Employees at FitzGibbon Media, which is based in Washington DC and has offices in New York, San Francisco and London, were informed of its closure during a company-wide call at 4pm on Thursday.
Suddenly out of work, staff spent the evening drafting a collective statement, saying they were “incredibly sad and disappointed” to confirm the allegations against FitzGibbon were “for sexual assault and harassment of multiple female staffers”.
“Staffers reported over a half dozen incidents of sexual harassment and at least two involving sexual assault committed by Trevor FitzGibbon against his own employees,” it added.
The Guardian, which is among a handful of media outlets listed as clients of FitzGibbon Media, has spoken to five employees at the firm, all of whom were involved in drafting the statement and confirmed its authenticity. Andy Stepanian, the company’s senior director of media relations, said the statement was drafted online and signed off by 24 of the firm’s 29 employees.
