Vogue’s Editor-in-Chief and Condé Nast Artistic Director Anna Wintour has decided to put the magazine’s relationship with photographers Mario Testino and Bruce Weber “on hold” amid sexual misconduct accusations against them.
“Even as we stand with victims of abuse and misconduct, we must also hold a mirror up to ourselves — and ask if we are doing our utmost to protect those we work with so that unacceptable conduct never happens on our watch,” Wintour wrote on Vogue’s website on Friday. “Sometimes that means addressing the fact that such behavior can occur close to home. Today, allegations have been made against Bruce Weber and Mario Testino, stories that have been hard to hear and heartbreaking to confront.”
She added, “Both are personal friends of mine who have made extraordinary contributions to Vogue and many other titles at Condé Nast over the years, and both have issued objections or denials to what has emerged. I believe strongly in the value of remorse and forgiveness, but I take the allegations very seriously, and we at Condé Nast have decided to put our working relationship with both photographers on hold for the foreseeable future.”
In a New York Times exposé from Friday, the two photographers were accused of sexual harassment and sexually exploitative behavior by dozens of male assistants and models. Representatives for both photographers said they were “dismayed and surprised by the allegations,” according to The Times, and Weber denied the accusations.
At the beginning of January, Weber said he “unequivocally” denies accusations that he sexually harassed model Jason Boyce. Boyce, represented by attorney Lisa Bloom, filed a lawsuit in December against Weber, saying that the photographer pressured him to take of his clothes and touch his genitals. Boyce, who moved to California in 2015, “suffered humiliation, emotional anguish and lost economic opportunities, including the end of his modeling career in New York,” said the suit (via The Hollywood Reporter).
According to Wintour, Conde Nast has put a new code of conduct in place to create “safe and positive environments for everyone.” These include:
- All models appearing in fashion shoots commissioned by Condé Nast must be 18 years of age or older. The only exceptions will be those appearing as themselves as part of a profile, news story, or similar content, and they will be required to have a chaperone on set at all times.
- Alcohol will no longer be allowed on Condé Nast sets. Recreational drugs are not permitted.
- Photographers will no longer be permitted to use a Condé Nast set for any work that is not commissioned or approved by the company.
- Any shoot involving nudity, sheer clothing, lingerie, swimwear, simulated drug or alcohol use, or sexually suggestive poses must be approved in advance by the subject.