Women’s Group to NBC, HBO and Penguin Publishing: Sever Ties with Mark Halperin And Stand Against Sexual Harassment
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, October 26, 2017
CONTACT: Anna Zuccaro | anna@unbendablemedia.com | (914) 523-9145
Women’s Group to NBC, HBO and Penguin Publishing: Sever Ties with Mark Halperin And Stand Against Sexual Harassment
UltraViolet: The Era of Silence About Sexual Harassment is Over
This morning, CNN reported that five women accused journalist Mark Halperin of sexually harassing them while he was the political director of ABC News. As the story broke, Halperin and NBC News announced that he was leaving his role as a contributor at NBC News until “questions around his past conduct are fully understood.”
In reaction to the news, Karin Roland, Chief Campaigns Officer at UltraViolet, a leading women’s advocacy organization, issued the following statement:
“Mark Halperin’s predatory behavior towards the women he worked with at ABC News is yet another public example of how men use their positions of power to sexually harass and abuse women.
“In the last few weeks, the American public has seen just how pervasive this culture of workplace harassment is in nearly every industry—and how women have been forced to endure this abuse in silence. That era of silence is over: Sexual predators will be named, shamed, and together, women and their allies will demand accountability.
“NBC, Penguin Publishing and HBO—who each have projects currently in development with Halperin—must prove that they stand against sexual harassment by severing ties him immediately.”
UltraViolet has been one of the leading organizations demanding justice for survivors of sexual assault. Earlier this year, UltraViolet called on Fox News to fire Bill O’Reilly after reports emerged that the former TV host had settled numerous sexual harassment and assault cases but remained on the network. UltraViolet also called on The Weinstein Company board to immediately fire Harvey Weinstein, and then disband, after numerous women came forward with allegations that Weinstein had sexually assaulted them.
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UltraViolet is an online community of over 1,000,000 women and men who want to take collective action to expose and fight sexism in the public sector, private sector and the media. Find out more at WeAreUltraViolet.org.