The founder and chief operating officer (COO) of the U.K.-based LGBTQ+ news website PinkNews have been accused by 33 current and former publication members of sexual misconduct, inappropriate behavior and fostering a “toxic” and misogynist workplace culture. The co-founders have denied the accusations. LGBTQ Nation has reached out to the founder for comment.
The allegations, reported by the BBC, came mostly from anonymous people who worked at PinkNews between 2017 and 2024 who made their claims via “official written complaints, private emails, WhatsApp messages, and doctors’ records about workplace stress.” The accusers said they often kept their concerns private for fear of workplace retaliation or firing.
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The allegations state that a workplace culture of “heavy drinking” — including staff cocktail evenings that lasted until early morning hours and “Prosecco Friday” where the bosses offered wine and snacks in the office — allegedly led founder Benjamin Cohen and his husband, COO Anthony James, to make sexual advances towards publication members.
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A worker accused James of groping and kissing a junior member of staff outside of a London pub after a workplace event. The junior member was allegedly “too drunk to stand or talk” and “unable to consent.”
“[James] was just forcing himself on somebody who wasn’t able to make that decision for themselves because of how intoxicated they were,” the accuser told the BBC. The accuser reported the incident via an email which was shared with PinkNews‘ senior leadership, but it’s unclear if any consequences occurred as a result.
Another worker accused Cohen of being “extremely drunk to the point he fell off his chair” and then privately inviting him back to his home because Cohen’s husband was away. “The suggestion was we would do something sexually. I was extremely uncomfortable,” the worker said, adding that he made sure he was never alone with Cohen ever again.
“I never heard about it again, no apology,” the worker said. “It put me on alert because it made me realize it was a boundary he thought he could cross.”
Another worker, Stephan Kyriacou, said his “dream come true” of working at a place where he didn’t have to hide his LGBTQ+ identity was “shattered” when Cohen slapped him on the buttocks in front of others at a staff Christmas party. He “completely avoided” Cohen after. In a private group chat, others allegedly referred to Cohen as a “creep.”
Workers accused Cohen of abusively belittling and shouting at him in the office. One said the treatment and stressed him out to the point of tears, but then Cohen would “love bomb” him by manipulatively showering him with compliments afterward.
Cai Wilshaw, PinkNews former head of external affairs told the BBC, “You had this sort of dark cloud in the office sometimes when [Cohen] was there, that made it really difficult to actually enjoy working there…. He is a very, very difficult character, and sometimes overly so in a way that really impacted people who worked with him.”
Several people said Cohen and James jokingly asked young female staff members if they’d serve as surrogates to carry their children. The people called the “awkward and uncomfortable” comments “creepy and sleazy,” and another worker said the behavior was “part and parcel” of the workplace’s “misogynistic” culture.
One accuser said that Cohen and James should step away from the business so the publication could continue its mission of credibly reporting on LGBTQ+ issues.
While the men have denied the accusations, James was recently suspended from his part-time role as an associate non-executive director of Bedfordshire Hospitals National Health Service Foundation Trust in response to the BBC’s report, though the trust said it had no allegations against him in its workplace.
The office of the prime minister called the allegations “very concerning.”
“They’re clearly very concerning reports,” the prime minister’s official spokesperson said. “I can’t speak to the specifics of them, but everyone should be free from sexual harassment at the workplace and indeed anywhere. And people should obviously always feel confident to come forward in these situations.”
Disclosure: LGBTQ Nation’s parent company, Q.Digital, has an advertising partnership with PinkNews.
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