The New York Times suspended one of its star reporters Monday after allegations surfaced that he had made inappropriate sexual advances toward younger colleagues throughout his career.
Vox reported allegations from several female reporters that Glenn Thrush, a prominent White House correspondent for the Times, had drunkenly propositioned them during evening work events. The piece was written by Vox’s editorial director Laura McGann and includes her own encounter with Thrush.
After one such incident, Thrush exchanged texts with a reporter’s friend after a drunken encounter had left her in tears. Vox has screen shots of the texts. The reporter said Thrush had repeatedly tried to take her hand and kiss her, then left her on a street corner when she resisted.
“To be honest we were both pretty loaded and I wanted to walk to sober up,” Thrush said in a text. “Things are pretty vague but I certainly wouldn’t have intended to put anyone in that sort of position… It was a terrible night, and I feel like a jerk. I’ll make it up to her. I feel really strongly about not creating a toxic environment.”
The setting—a bar, a group of journalists at work-related events—reoccurs throughout.
“Three young women I interviewed, including the young woman who met Thrush in June, described to me a range of similar experiences, from unwanted groping and kissing to wet kisses out of nowhere to hazy sexual encounters that played out under the influence of alcohol,” McGann wrote.
McGann also said Thrush had harassed her when they were colleagues at Politico.
“He caught me off guard, put his hand on my thigh, and suddenly started kissing me,” McGann wrote. “Thrush says that he recalls the incident differently.”
In a statement, Thrush denied several specific instances of misbehavior alleged in the Vox report, while calling the June incident “a life-changing event.”
“I apologize to any woman who felt uncomfortable in my presence, and for any situation where I behaved inappropriately,” he wrote. “My recollection of my interactions with Laura differs greatly from hers—the encounter was consensual, brief, and ended by me…. The June incident related in the story was a life-changing event. The woman involved was upset by my actions and for that I am deeply sorry.”
The Times issued a statement announcing Thrush’s suspension.
“The behavior attributed to Glenn in this Vox story is very concerning and not in keeping with the standards and values of The New York Times,” the statement read. “We intend to fully investigate and while we do, Glenn will be suspended.”
