Matthew Weiner Denies Sexual Harassment But Admits To Being A 'Demanding' Boss
Matthew Weiner, the creator of the acclaimed AMC series “Mad Men,” spoke out against the accusations of emotional and sexual abuse made against him by Kater Gordon, a former writer for the show.
During a book signing for his debut novel, “Heather, The Totality,” Weiner denied Gordon’s accusations but admitted to being a “demanding boss” during the writing of “Mad Men,” behavior that he said he now regrets.
News reporter Zohreen Adamjee of KTTV-TV in Los Angeles recorded his remarks at a bookstore and published them to Twitter.
“The allegations are not true and that this is a very important topic and a topic that has been an obsession of mine in my work and in my life,” Weiner said, according to Adamjee’s recording.
“For like 92 hours of the show, we wanted people to be having this conversation,” he added, referencing “Mad Men.” “It’s great that we’re having this conversation.”
BREAKING: #MadMen creator Matthew Weiner addresses sexual harassment allegations by writer @katergordon. TV writer/producer @martinoxon tweeted her support for Kater today, saying she believes her. Hear from Weiner here...more on @FOXLA tonight at 10p: pic.twitter.com/rInuQrYkVu
— Zohreen (@Zohreen) November 18, 2017
Earlier this month, Gordon told The Information that Weiner had sexually harassed her while she was a staff writer and his personal assistant on “Mad Men.”
Gordon claims that Weiner told her that she “owed it to him to let him” see her naked, she told the news site. Weiner at the time reportedly encouraged Gordon to pitch own ideas for the show and offered her a chance to co-write the show’s season finales.
Although Gordon won an Emmy in 2009 for working on “Mad Men,” she was fired at the end of the show’s third season, according to Variety.
When asked why Gordon came forward with the allegation, Weiner said he did not want to “speak to someone else’s character.”
He did, however, say he regretted being a demanding and oftentimes angry boss while working on the AMC drama.
“I will say this, that I have hired dozens of women over the years and dozens of people,” he said. “I am a demanding boss and, especially in the early years, it was very hard to do it and a lot of stress. It’s very lonely ― I got better at it for sure.”
Weiner then suggested he behaved that way because he wanted the show to be great, saying, “When I think back on it ... letting people go and being mad about having to rewrite everything, you’re just angry a lot of the time, but you want the show to be great and it’s kind of what you do.”
He added, “So I guess if I had to do it over again I would do it differently. The person I am now would definitely do it differently.”
Marti Noxon, a former senior consultant for “Mad Men,” stood by Gordon’s accusation and, in tweets Friday, described Weiner’s management style as oppressive.
“Anyone with an even cursory knowledge of the show Mad Men could imagine that very line coming from the mouth of Pete Campbell,” Noxon said, referencing Weiner’s alleged comment to Gordon.
“Matt, Pete’s creator, is many things. He is devilishly clever and witty, but he is also, in the words of one of his colleagues, an ‘emotional terrorist’ who will badger, seduce and even tantrum in an attempt to get his needs met,” Noxon added.
On the subject of Matt Weiner and #MadMen
About a week ago Kater Gordon, a young female writer who worked on Mad Men bravely came forward with her account of being sexual harassed by Matt Weiner. While sharing writing duties with him, she recalls that he causally mentioned 1/— marti noxon (@martinoxon) November 17, 2017
something to the effect of "you owe it to me to show me your naked body."
I believe her. I was at work with her the day after what she described transpired. I remember clearly how shaken and subdued Kater was -- and continued to be from that day on. 2/— marti noxon (@martinoxon) November 17, 2017
Responding to her statement, Matt claimed he would never make that kind of comment to a colleague. But anyone with an even cursory knowledge of the show Mad Men could imagine that very line coming from the mouth of Pete Campbell. 3/
— marti noxon (@martinoxon) November 17, 2017
Matt, Pete's creator, is many things. He is devilishly clever and witty, but he is also, in the words of one of his colleagues, an "emotional terrorist" who will badger, seduce and even tantrum in an attempt to get his needs met. 4/
— marti noxon (@martinoxon) November 17, 2017
Noxon also described the working atmosphere that Weiner created, in which “everyone is constantly off guard and unsure where they stand.”
“It is the kind of atmosphere where a comment like ‘you owe it to me to show me your naked body’ may ― or may not ― be a joke. And it may ― or may not ― lead to a demotion or even the end of a career.”
Read the rest of Noxon’s tweets below.
This personality type can not help but create an atmosphere where everyone is constantly off guard and unsure where they stand. It is the kind of atmosphere where a comment like "you owe it to me to show me your naked body"... 5/
— marti noxon (@martinoxon) November 17, 2017
may -- or may not -- be a joke. And it may -- or may not -- lead to a demotion or even the end of a career. 6/
— marti noxon (@martinoxon) November 17, 2017
Everyone at Mad Men, regardless of gender or position, was affected by this atmosphere. Why did we not confront him more or report him to our parent companies? Well, for one, we were grateful to him for the work and truly in awe of his talents. 7/
— marti noxon (@martinoxon) November 17, 2017
For another, it was hard to know what was real when moods and needs shifted so frequently. Self-advocacy is important and I agree we all need to do it more and rely on less on faulty institutions to do it for us 8/
— marti noxon (@martinoxon) November 17, 2017
But it is very difficult when the cost is, at best, fear and uncertainty -- and at worst the loss of a job and ruined reputation. Taking that action is one thing to contemplate if you have money in the bank and family to fall back on 9/
— marti noxon (@martinoxon) November 17, 2017
but quite another for people from all walks of life without a safety net. And when sexual favors are lightly added to the bag of tools one might use to stay employed and valued, it can be destabilizing or even devastating. 10/
— marti noxon (@martinoxon) November 17, 2017
It may not be illegal, but it is oppressive. I witnessed it and, despite the fact that that I was a senior consultant on the show, I also experienced it in my own way in my days at Mad Men. 11/
— marti noxon (@martinoxon) November 17, 2017
I believe Kater Gordon.
— marti noxon (@martinoxon) November 17, 2017
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