{"id":478450,"date":"2021-05-06T13:50:53","date_gmt":"2021-05-06T17:50:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=478450"},"modified":"2021-05-06T13:50:55","modified_gmt":"2021-05-06T17:50:55","slug":"powerhouse-hollywood-talent-agency-faces-metoo-reckoning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/powerhouse-hollywood-talent-agency-faces-metoo-reckoning\/","title":{"rendered":"Powerhouse Hollywood Talent Agency Faces #MeToo Reckoning"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpowerhouse-hollywood-talent-agency-faces-metoo-reckoning%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=478450&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/GettyImages-56192858-1200x800-1.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"  style=\"display:none\"><\/div>\n<p><span>In the latest blow for an industry already reeling from public perceptions of hypocrisy, one of Hollywood\u2019s most powerful talent agencies is facing numerous allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination, and fostering an abusive work environment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>ICM, which represents A-listers like Ellen DeGeneres, Samuel L. Jackson, and Chris Rock,<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/news\/general-news\/icm-partners-pledges-reach-50-50-gender-parity-by-2020-1064634\/\"> <span>pledged<\/span><\/a><span> in 2017, at the height of the #MeToo movement, to help change the culture in Hollywood by making sure at least half of its leadership positions were filled by women within three years. Superficially, at least, the company claims to have achieved that goal. But a bombshell report in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/entertainment-arts\/business\/story\/2021-05-05\/icm-partners-pledged-gender-equity-but-women-say-they-were-mistreated\"><span>The Los Angeles Times<\/span><\/a><span> Wednesday detailing more than 30 complaints of inappropriate conduct suggests it has failed to live up to the spirit of the promise.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Almost a dozen female ICM employees told Times reporter Wendy Lee they were mistreated by male coworkers and reported the conduct to HR or their superiors, with no discernible change in the agency\u2019s culture. Women outside the company who work closely with ICM agents also reported receiving unwanted sexual advances. Among the most serious accusations the Times details \u2014 that top agent Steve Alexander (who represents John Travolta) exposed himself to a female film executive inside her car, and agent Kevin Hussey tried to kiss a client in a hotel lobby.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>ICM told the Times it addressed the complaint against Hussey by assigning the client to other agents but said its HR department has no record of other allegations. The company said in a statement it doesn\u2019t \u201ctolerate harassment, bullying or other inappropriate conduct.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In the last two years, the agency has also made a public show of diversity, saying in an<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/news\/general-news\/icm-partners-lay-40-staffers-1300710\/\"> <span>internal memo<\/span><\/a><span> last June it would, \u201cmake every effort to hire diverse candidates for at least half of all open positions going forward.\u201d But the Times suggests that, too, may have been little more than window dressing as minority employees complain of being used as tokens. Lee reports black staffers claim they were coerced into appearing in trainee videos to telegraph a commitment to diversity that was only skin deep.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Jabari McDonald, who worked as a media rights assistant, said he and two other black staffers were asked to pose as agent-trainees to make the program appear more diverse. ICM admitted this claim is true but chalked it up to poor judgment, saying, \u201cit was quickly corrected.\u201d The company also didn\u2019t deny accounts from former staffers of being screamed at and called names by senior executives, one of whom threw a package at an assistant\u2019s head when she failed to secure him a lunch reservation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Facing a barrage of bad press, ICM\u2019s female board members appear to be attempting to form a pink wall around the company. When I called to ask if the 2017 pledge to promote the safety and success of women amounted to little more than a PR stunt, Corporate Communications Coordinator Niki Costa emailed me a statement from three female ICM board members.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cAny insinuation that our 50\/50 by 2020 pledge was an insincere marketing ploy is utterly irreconcilable with both the facts and our personal experience,\u201d Lorrie Bartlett, Jennifer Joel and Janet Carol Norton said. The trio continued, \u201cIn a challenging, competitive, and labor-intensive industry that demands much of its participants, we feel privileged to enjoy both a safe and encouraging environment, fair and abundant opportunities, and the respect and support of all colleagues of all genders.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Ironically, one of ICM\u2019s highest-profile clients, Shonda Rhimes, is a founding member of the #MeToo activist group Time\u2019s Up. And former Fox anchor Gretchen Carlson hired the company to manage her career in the wake of her sexual harassment allegations against Roger Ailes. Based in part on public perception that Carlson went to war against powerful, abusive men, the agency quickly landed her an upfront deal with A&#038;E. The Daily Wire reached out to Time\u2019s Up for comment on this story and did not receive a timely response.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Should Rhimes, Carlson, or any other ICM clients who\u2019ve become public faces of #MeToo decide to jump ship, the beleaguered agency could join the ranks of The Weinstein Company and other one-time power players who suddenly find themselves on the D-list.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i>The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a<\/i>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><i>member<\/i><\/a><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the latest blow for an industry already reeling from public perceptions of hypocrisy, one of Hollywood\u2019s most powerful talent agencies is facing numerous allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination, and &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2277469,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/GettyImages-56192858-1200x800-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"Powerhouse Hollywood Talent Agency Faces #MeToo Reckoning","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-478450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/GettyImages-56192858-1200x800-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"Powerhouse Hollywood Talent Agency Faces #MeToo Reckoning","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=478450"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478450\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2277469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=478450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=478450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=478450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}