One month after a scathing New York Times exposé uncovered a culture of sexual misconduct at the prominent media company Vice, one of the men named in that article has reportedly been fired. Mike Germano, who spent four years as Vice’s Chief Digital Officer, has been let go after multiple women accused him of unwanted sexual advances in and adjacent to the workplace.
In the New York Times report, one woman accused Germano of a lewd remark while they were co-workers at Carrot, an agency that was eventually acquired by Vice. A former Vice employee, Gabrielle Schafer, said Germano pulled her onto his lap at a company party in 2014. “Carrot has been repeatedly recognized as one of the industry’s best places to work, and I do not believe that these allegations reflect the company’s culture — or the way we treat each other,” Germano said at the time in a statement. “With regards to the incident with Ms. Schaefer, I agreed at that time it was inappropriate, I apologized, and it was resolved with the help of HR.”
In light of these allegations, Germano was initially suspended, though The Wrap has reported that he has now been fired. “As you are aware, Mike Germano has been on leave and I want to let you know that he will not be returning to the company,” said Vice CFO Sarah Broderick in a memo to employees. Germano told The Wrap that he had not been fired but had instead left Vice of his accord, but the publication cited “a person with knowledge of the situation” who claimed otherwise.
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Another Vice higher-up, president Andrew Creighton, was also suspended after he was named in the New York Times report. His future with the company has not been made clear, though his LinkedIn profile suggests he still holds a position at Vice.
