FitzGibbon Media — a prominent DC-based progressive public relations firm — closed its doors Thursday after several female employees launched sexual assault complaints against founder and president Trevor FitzGibbon.
According to the Huffington Post, FitzGibbon Media has worked with “some of the biggest progressive organizations — including MoveOn, the Center for American Progress and the AFL-CIO. The firm addressed the scandal in a statement on Thursday.
The team that comprised FitzGibbon Media is incredibly sad and disappointed to confirm that allegations have been made against Trevor FitzGibbon, FitzGibbon Media founder and President, for sexual assault and harassment of multiple female staffers. Staffers reported over a half dozen incidents of sexual harassment and at least two involving sexual assault committed by Trevor FitzGibbon against his own employees.
For decades, Trevor presented himself a champion of the progressive movement, claiming to support and respect women and feminist issues, from equal pay to reproductive rights, but his actions prove a hypocrisy so great that FitzGibbon Media closed its doors today, as we could no longer continue working under his leadership. We lost our jobs standing up for what’s right, to ensure a safe workplace for all — and while we may have been left without jobs, benefits and long-term healthcare, we have our integrity and each other.
We are devastated to see our beloved place of work closed at the hands of such a coward and hope to continue working on the social and political issues we love and care so deeply for in the future.
Trevor FitzGibbon also supplied a personal statement, confirming the accuracy of the Huffington Post’s> report, but also calling the allegations “a distraction to the mission at hand.”
It is with tremendous regret that we had to close FitzGibbon Media. Our team was at the helm of many of the most important policy debates of our time. We were the undisputed communications leader for the progressive movement. Although the company is closing, our talents and our mission remain unchanged.
The allegations against me are a distraction to the mission at hand. In order to do what is best for the company, I took a leave of absence. However, it is abundantly clear that an irreconcilable difference has arisen between the FitzGibbon team and me. We had no choice but to make the difficult decision to close FitzGibbon Media.
I apologize to my team and our clients for the impact this closing will have on them. I will work to once again regain the trust that was lost.
You can read the entirety of the accusations levied against FitzGibbon over at the Huffington Post.