BBC journalist details sexual harassment allegations by colleagues under #metoo campaign
A HIGH-PROFILE BBC anchor has shared in excruciating detail the lewd behaviour of several of her colleagues, prompting claims of a “cover-up”.
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A BBC journalist has revealed sexual harassment claims against former colleagues as part of the #metoo social media campaign following the Harvey Weinstein allegations.
Washington presenter and correspondent Rajini Vaidyanathan wrote a blog post for the corporation where she revealed her experience as a 25-year-old reporter in the US to cover the elections.
One night eating dinner with a colleague, he told her: “I’m unbelievably sexually attracted to you. I can’t stop thinking about you,” she wrote.
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“I dropped my fork and it bounced on the plate, the spaghetti still woven around it.”
“This was a colleague twice my age, well-respected and with a girlfriend. I had experienced sexism in the workplace before, but not in such an overt way.”
She said she tried to change the subject and ate as fast as she could.
“I wasn’t sure at the time if he’d said anything that I could reasonably complain about, but I remember feeling disgusted and uncomfortable about it.”
Vaidyanathan also disclosed another incident where a married former colleague sent her lewd messages about his sexual desires.
“I have become obsessed with pleasuring myself,” he wrote. “I just can’t control myself.”
“I was horrified but at first I thought I needed to be polite, as there was a chance we’d work together again,” she said. “I didn’t really know what to say, so I responded telling him that it sounded pretty normal for some men to think like that, hoping he’d go away.”
“But his messages continued and became more creepy. He said he’d fantasised about sex with powerful women, and how he wanted to cheat on his wife.”
She later found out he had been doing the same thing to another woman, and had subsequently been fired after a third complaint.
A third incident she recounted included getting a suggestive text and a late-night knock on the door from a married colleague on a work trip. She hid in the bathroom and phoned a male friend to defuse the situation.
It comes as Australian journalist Tracey Spicer vowed to “name and shame” perpetrators of sexual harrassment in the local media.
“Currently, I am investigating two long-term offenders in our media industry. Please, contact me privately to tell your stories,” she tweeted. She also said it was “interesting” that punishment in the US seems swift while Australian offenders are “simply shifted” or “actually, promoted”.
In the last week some of Hollywood’s most high-profile women have come forward to reveal their experiences with harassment and abuse from some of Hollywood’s most powerful men.
Game of Thrones actress Lena Heady, Jennifer Lawrence and Reese Witherspoon are among those who this week have joined Angelina Jolie, Gwenyth Paltrow and Kate Beckinsale in revealing their experience of alleged harassment and abuse in the industry.
Vaidyanathan was forced to defend the BBC after her claims were picked up by other outlets who wrote that it was tantamount to a corporation cover-up.
“The BBC DID NOT try to hush up the sacking of a colleague who sent harassing messages to women inc me,” (sic) she tweeted,
“Managers were v open about it after. He was sacked within days of person making a complaint.”
“There was no cover up over this I can assure you. Also BBC has been extremely supportive in allowing me to share my story. And continues to be.”
In short this headline isn't what the story should be. The point is people, mainly women, in all industries/workplaces face harassment. My article was to highlight how common it is. #metoo. pic.twitter.com/glc9eIRKeW
— Rajini Vaidyanathan (@BBCRajiniV) October 18, 2017
Originally published as BBC journalist details sexual harassment allegations by colleagues under #metoo campaign
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