Late last week, Condé Nast issued a statement condemning sexual harassment and called for industry-wide action following the publisher's move to cut ties with photographer Terry Richardson.
The statement, that came in email form from Condé Nast chief executive officer Bob Sauerberg and Condé Nast International chairman and ceo Jonathan Newhouse read:
“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,”
“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.”
The seriousness of the statement follows an Instagram campaign, started by model Cameron Russell, in which she asked fashion industry colleagues to post their experiences of being harassed. Many anonymously shared instances of sexual harassment by well-known fashion photographers.
