Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Bravo Condones Sexual Harassment In The Workplace


Generally I have been skipping Brad Brad World on Bravo. I find him annoying and pretentious and after watching one episode decided to skip the rest for pretty much ever. Last night a reader sent me an e-mail saying I needed to watch it because there was something that was really horrific on the show so I watched it. Needless to say I was horrified.


It does not matter if you have never watched the show. It does not matter if you will ever watch the show, this post is just about common decency and respect and what a network lets slide for ratings.

Last night Brad (who is a self professed stylist for people who cannot dress themselves) took his female assistant Lindsay on a trip to Alabama. They went to an event and Brad was invited to be photographed while at a lake. His assistant was also there and was wearing a modest bikini and the photographer asks to shoot her too. She agrees. After being photographed Brad calls her a slut. After a few beats he says just kidding. At this point she has tears in her eyes. After another minute he then calls her a big slut and she starts crying even more.

This is not acceptable. Just because you are a gay man does not mean you can call your female employees sluts. This is sexual harassment and bullying. What did Bravo do that condones this? They aired it. They did not say it was wrong. What they should have done is put and end to the show right then and there. They did not though. In the alternative they could have not aired that portion. They chose to air it. They could have also had some kind of disclaimer or some kind of announcement about where you can go or who you can talk to if you feel like you have been sexually harassed at work.

Does Andy Cohen call his female assistants sluts? I am guessing he thinks it is perfectly ok because last time I checked he was the boss of programming. Did anything happen to Brad? Nope. I guarantee you that if a straight male employee called his female assistant a slut there would have been hell to pay. If a straight male had called his gay assistant the f word there would have been hell to pay so why is it ok and condoned by Bravo that a gay man can call his female assistant a slut and there are no repercussions.

47 comments:

JenX said...

They also aired Vicki Gunvalson spanking her young female employee for being late after lunch on Real Housewives of Orange County.

Tempestuous Grape said...

Oh brother. She probably is a slut...do you actually know her?

Beth said...

I thought it was only OK for gay men to call women "stupid bitch."

Or is that only in Sassy Gay Friend world?

Murphy Brown 2020 said...

Ugh.

Enty, I agree with everything you said. Thank you.

Meg said...

I can't agree more. Have been watching the show, find him annoying and his blatant impersonation of Rachel Zoe ridiculous. Also, on the same episode, did anyone catch the comment from Brad's boyfriend to the assistant, "I would offer you a cup of tea, but I don't want you to get used to it". This was said with Brad standing there. I can't get over how entitled these people feel. What's wrong with the common decency and hospitality of offering a person in your home a refreshment when they are there. Does it put you out that much?

I am done with the show and want this Brad's 15 minutes over. Also, does anyone notice his affected accent is vaguely similar to Katherine Hepburn in "On Golden Pond".

Anonymous said...

Wow, that's really upsetting.

I've worked with a lot of gay men and some (not all, I said some) have said things to me that would cause a straight man to lose his job. I'm not defending him, I've never heard of him before, but maybe he just doesn't get that his actions are wrong because he feels entitled to act that way.

I'm kind of rambling, sorry. I feel so bad for her.

BigMama said...

I agree with you Enty, however, I don't think for a second that Andy C has the time to watch all the crap he airs. He can't possibly.

HannahPalindrome said...

ENTY!

I can't stand Brad!
I always thought he was annoying, but I hated him when he went to Paris. I always felt that he should have let Taylor go because she had worked for Rachel the longest. It was the decent thing to do without being a whiny crybaby.
I don't even think he has great style or an interesting personality.

Chris said...

Gay men say and do a lot of misogynistic things and think they can get away with it because they are gay. And honestly, a lot of the times they're right. People don't call them on it because they're supposedly "one of the girls."

nolachickee said...

I don't watch this show because he made me sick when he was that hag's assistant. No offense to this woman, I do feel sorry for her, but why would anyone want to work for him? Only another bitchy, whiney, entitled-feeling gay man would feel comfortable with this fucktard. If Brad had such an assistant, they could rag on each other all day long.

EmEyeKay said...

Enty, I'm glad you pointed it out. It brings up a really good point which other readers have already made: gay men get away with A LOT of comments that straight men would be shot for. I don't know why people think gay men can't be misogynistic (sp?) - they can, and do, and it gets played off like "oh, they don't really mean it, they're just being SASSY!" I have many gay friends, no gaybashing here. Was just (two weeks ago) having a conversation about this with a friend who is transitioning from M to F. We have the coolest conversations about men and women, her perspective is really eye-opening.

ardleighstreet said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lelaina Pierce said...

Good points, Enty.

I haven't watched Brad Brad World. I liked him on Bravo, but maybe all this attention has gone to his head a bit. He seemed sweet on The RZ Project. I'm sure his assistant was humiliated.

ardleighstreet said...

Call the misogynist out on his behavior. Email and complain to Cohen and Bravo.

Since he was a total asshat then let them know as viewers of the channel you will not let him away with it.
Tell them you are contacting the advertisers of the show too. Tell the advertising companies while they support a verbally abusive chauvinist, you will not support them. Trust me! When I contacted advertisers; who were supporting Chris Brown; they thanked me then dropped the scum. YOUR VOICE (and money) COUNT.

Vikingwench said...

I can't stand any of that unreal reality crap. And that's exactly what most of it is.

La La Lady said...

Thank you, Enty! As a woman who has worked with my share of gay men, (many of whom have become dear friends outside the office) I have definitely experienced this kind of "jovial harassment" and was made to feel that I was the one who was out of line whenever I stood up to it. I don't care who is talking - its never ok to speak to others disparaging about their appearance or in a sexual manner in the workplace. Thank you for recognizing how unbalanced this behavior really is!

La La Lady said...

Thank you, Enty! As a woman who has worked with my share of gay men, (many of whom have become dear friends outside the office) I have definitely experienced this kind of "jovial harassment" and was made to feel that I was the one who was out of line whenever I stood up to it. I don't care who is talking - its never ok to speak to others disparaging about their appearance or in a sexual manner in the workplace. Thank you for recognizing how unbalanced this behavior really is!

Pookie said...

yikes, how horrible for the asst! bravo needs to be on the ball more. i wouldn't go so far as to say as andy is personally condoning this behavior, but it does appear that he needs to focus quite a bit about the content the producers are letting 'slip by'. boo hiss on that brad person (who, btw, i've never even heard of).

thebirdofparadise said...

Well said. I am going to show this post to my 14 year old son later today. Hey, it's easier to find a teachable moment embedded in pop culture than in a stilted hypothetical conversation, IMO.

I agree with every word, Enty. Thank you.

The Flower Girl said...

funneee enty i thought the exact same thing about this show and brad as you stated!

great minds think alike!

crila16 said...

@ Tempestuous Grape..."She probably was?" You don't know anymore than anyone else. This is unacceptable behavior by a boss or anyone. No man gay or straight has any right to sexually harass or plain old harass any female in the work place. Whether the assistant was a slut or not, he has absolutely no right to say that to an employee. Besides, it's none of his damn business. He really should be reprimanded and she should definitely file a suit against Bravo. This was on national Tv and could really hurt her reputation.

__-__=__ said...

So wrong. See how "slut" and "big slut" is sooooo different from "bacon slut"...........

ItsJustMe said...

Andy Cohen is the antichrist. No ifs, ands, or buts.

The sad thing is that the assistant WANTS to be there and puts up with all that crap. Nothing that doesn't happen every minute of every day, sad to say.

ItsJustMe said...

And it really is absolutely disgusting about Brad whining about having to start over again and working out of his gargage when he lives in the flippin' hollywood hills and can afford to pay $3k in office space rent.
Dis-gus-ting.

Jolene Jolene said...

I believe Tempestuous Grape is fluent in the language of sarcasm. Just sayin.

Amartel said...

This! Exactly. And thank you for it.
People who think the rules of common decency don't apply to them are obnoxious.

Lori said...

I like Brad. I think he was trying to scold her in a joking manner for acting innappropriately, and he didnt really do that in the most appropriate way. I think her tears were more because of the fact that she knew that she shouldnt have been dancing around for the photographer when she was supposed to be on the clock, rather than the fact that he called her a little slut, however. She looked more like she was afraid he was going to fire her than worried about her reputation. Either way, he shouldnt have said that to her.

Lori said...

and she should have acted like a responsible employee.

Amartel said...

What's really obnoxious about Brad is that he got his start by glomming onto Rachel Zoe, provoking dissension between Zoe and her long-term female assistant who left in disgust, and then promptly ditching Zoe for greener Bravo pastures. (Rachel is a clueless tool for cute gay guys.) It probably doesn't occur to Brad that he's a hypocritical asshole. But he is.

The Bitch Next Door said...

I believe the genesis for Brad calling her a slut was jealousy plain and simple. Lindsey being photographed and having attention paid to her by the designer & the photographer was too much for his immature ego. In his mind there's ONLY one star of the Brad show and that's BRAD! Shades of RACHEL ZOE....

Unknown said...

Brad is a f-tard.
saw him at the Hollywood FM months back and he very much appears like an insecure twerp.
which is exactly why he needs to treat people who are helping him like this.
i hope his show tanks with a loud crash!

The Bitch Next Door said...

Oh and when Brad's BF chose not to offer Lindsey a cup of tea it was apparent he NEEDED her to know where she fell in the pecking order...I am God and you are JUST an employee, ergo do not expect any favors from me.

joymama said...

I watched the first episode and was done with Brad but I'm so over all the Bravo shows. The RH shows are horrible with all the bitchy fighting and I quit watching when they aired Russel footage.

Casual Observer said...

The tea thing ticked me off. It was just plain rude and made the boyfriend look like such a jerk.

I know a lot of gay men and they do this kind of posturing and misogynist stuff all the time.

Lindsay seems like a very sweet girl who really wants to do a good job.

I'm off to email Bravo.

feraltart said...

Well written Enty. Thank you for calling people out on their behaviour.

Susan said...

I watched the first epi of this, and immediately became comatose. Seriously. This show could cure anyone's insomnia.

I didn't watch the epi being referred to in this post, but maybe it was staged? I got a very stagey feeling from the first epi that I did see. Ditto for all of the Rachel Zoe episodes. And of course, the Housewives.

My problem with this show - and the Rachel Zoe show - is that both Brad and Rachel act like they are So. Fucking. Important. It's as if picking out a dress is like solving the world economic crises or ending the conflict in the Middle East or childhood obesity or improving our shit education system in the U.S. If I ever had the chance to meet Rachel or her protege Brad I would say to these fuckwads, "It's JUST A DRESS!!"

And look. I lurves me my fashion. I am a shoe a holic. I read my Vogue and In Style. It's just, these people are so unselfaware.

I also loathe their monotone LA voices. Any conversation between Brad and his boyfriend grates on my brain.

RocketQueen said...

Yikes, I too hope you were being sarcastic, Temp Grape! ;)

Worstcompanytoworkfor said...

She should quit and sue, but she won't because she probably likes being on TV.

Stand up and things will change, dont just wuss out and cry.

Worstcompanytoworkfor said...

She should quit and sue, but she won't because she probably likes being on TV.

Stand up and things will change, dont just wuss out and cry.

Hazeldazel said...

girl, call up Gloria Steinham and sue, sue, sue!

Cathy said...

I agree with all of you, but just want to bring up one more point - where is all this outrage when a woman calls another woman a slut or a whore? How is that any different?

Anonymous said...

^That outrage comes out on this site.

rareavis said...

Enty THANK YOU so, so much!
It was I who sent the email.

I was just astonished, gobsmacked is the word.
I am OUTRAGED with this. In our society, where teens are killing themselves over being bullied, we cannot except, excuse, or turn a blind eye to this type of harassment. It's not OK, EVER. For Bravo to air this, they are saying, yup sure what's the problem?
If I were to call Brad a nelly fag, he'd cry for days. His partner called his behavior ugly in the same episode. I would agree. They need to cancel his series, it's that serious of an offense.

DixieTheNoble82 said...

This is horrid. His assistant should be allowed to fire HIS ass and take HIS job.

DixieTheNoble82 said...

Oh - I also don't find it acceptable for any guy, gay or straight, to call myself or any female 'bitch', 'slut', 'whore' or anything like.

Being sarcastic and/or funny does not water it down or void it either. That is the same as saying "no-h*mo", IMO.

i said...

Enty, I've been troubled by this since I saw Perez Hilton calling women worse. I don't understand why it is condoned.

mooshki said...

I watched this last night, and I was appalled. It was also clear from what they both said afterwards that even though he pretended to be joking, underneath he was serious about what he said. It would have been bad enough if it were completely a joke, but it wasn't. He was mad that she took attention away from him. And it was absurd that he was commenting disparagingly on her outfit when they were at a pool party, and as Enty said, the bikini was quite modest. She was put in the position of not wanting to offend the photographer or Brad, and all Brad would have had to do was give her the tiniest hint, and she would have happily said "no" to the photos.

It's not like this is a big surprise since he just came out of a working relationship with Rachel Zoe, who puts the "in" into "inappropriate." Same shit, different show.

JenX, that thing with Vicki was awful too! She may have known the girl growing up, but she is now an adult and an employee, and that was completely inappropriate.

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