• by Melynda Fuller , October 31, 2018

After 16 years with Vice Media, Andrew Creighton is stepping down as the company’s president following accusations of sexual harassment stemming back to 2016.

Creighton was  suspended on January 2of this year following a New York Times piece that reported the media company had paid a $135,000 settlement two years ago, following accusations from a former employee who said she’d been fired after rejecting Creighton’s advances. 

According to The Wrap, despite the claims of the Times’ story and the 2016 payment, Vice Media’s internal investigation cleared Creighton of misconduct.

The accusations against Creighton are not singular at the media company or its reputation for a hostile work environment for women.

In January, Mike Germano, Vice Media’s Chief Digital Officer, left the company following a New York Times’ story that reported he was accused of two counts of sexual misconduct. Germano apologized in a statement.

Prior to Creighton and Germano’s departures, Vice Media developed a female-led advisory board led by attorney Roberta Kaplan in November 2017 to address company’s work environment. Gloria Steinem was tapped as a member, as were former Michelle Obama's chief of staff Tina Tchenand and Broadly publisher Ariel Wengroff.

The creation of the board followed a Daily Beast article that investigated the toxic environment at Vice Media. It also examined the company’s agreement with employees regarding their response to sexually provocative or explicit material, namely that they pledged not to be offended.

In March, to further shed Vice Media’s reputation for being a toxic and male-centric workplace, the company hired former A&E Networks CEO Nancy Dubuc to replace cofounder and Vice Media CEO Shane Smith.