Employees of LGBT media outlet 'PinkNews' accuse founder and husband of sexual misconduct

About 30 employees of the British digital media outlet PinkNews have accused its founder, Benjamin Cohen, and his husband, Anthony James, who is also the newspaper's chief operating officer, of sexual misconduct.

According to testimonies compiled by the BBC, Cohen and James promote "a culture of heavy drinking." Several former employees reported experiencing bullying and sexual harassment, which made them feel uncomfortable around Cohen and James.

In one case, five staff members claimed that James groped and kissed a subordinate who was "too drunk to stand or talk" outside a London pub. He was "unable to consent."

While one said he feared for her job, "It’s the CEO’s husband, what are you going to do? Lose your job?" another was encouraged to lodge an internal complaint. The BBC claims it obtained copies of the complaint, but has no evidence that any action was taken.

"Ben was extremely drunk to the point he fell off his chair, and then asked me out of earshot of my other colleagues whether I wanted to go back to his […] because Anthony his husband wasn’t there," another related to the public broadcaster. "I was extremely uncomfortable."

In a group chat, several workers defined Cohen as a "creep." In addition, some claimed that the boss couple discriminated against women. Some young female employees were told they should volunteer to be surrogates for them. 

Government says it is "very concerned"

Although neither Cohen nor James would comment on the allegations, sources close to them denied the validity of the testimonies.

Keir Starmer's office called the news "very concerning," according to the BBC. The official spokeswoman did not comment specifically on the case but emphasized that "everyone should be free" from such behavior. When asked whether the Labour leader would attend the PinkNews Awards gala again, she declined to respond.