Alleged Audio Leaks from PinkNews CEO
A Twitter account dedicated to sharing the unflattering stories of people who claim to have worked for PinkNews released alleged audio recordings of CEO Benjamin Cohen that are, to say the least, troubling!
by Alyssa Steinsiek
On Monday, a whistleblower account on Twitter shared what appear to be audio recordings of PinkNews founder and CEO Benjamin Cohen throwing the trans rights movement, and indeed all transgender people, under the bus for the sake of corporate sponsorships.
The Twitter account in question, posting under the handle @PinkNewsStaff with the username PinkNewsWhistleblowers, has been sharing alleged reports of misconduct and maltreatment of staff members since May of this year. Allegations range from a former transgender man employed at PinkNews experiencing microaggressions and unspecified “inappropriate physical conduct,” to other audio recordings of Cohen and PinkNews COO Anthony James discussing firing employees who are “triggered hugely by everything” because, according to them, “PinkNews is not a family.”
In this most recent audio recording shared by whistleblowers, Cohen said that “things that relate to trans and non-binary [sic] remain incredibly contentious,” and that “there is significant brand and partner nervousness around that topic.”
“It’s the role of others … to change the narrative,” Cohen said regarding PinkNews’ responsibility to the trans community. “If we start doing too many things, I think it will harm the conversations with advertisers … what we are is an entertainment content powerhouse, we don’t want to be positioning ourselves as some sort of charity.”
This may seem like a shocking display of cowardice and greed, but contextualizing this behavior as the work of an all-white cis male executive team may blunt some of that surprise. As the whistleblowers explain in their tweet about PinkNews’ executive staff, their HR boss is a close friend Cohen and James, and any appeal on a decision made by that HR boss would go to CFO Andrew Millet, a close family friend of the Cohens, or to Richard Cohen, Benjamin’s father.
Diversity at the top, it seems, is not necessarily a priority. According to the whistleblowers, since 2022 “six senior women and one black, non-binary exec joined under the CEO/COO,” but “all but one left within a year.”
It’s no great surprise that this sort of tight-knit nepotistic management structure would lead to gross abuse and negligence with regards to any staff that Cohen or James might view as disposable nuisances. A quick look at PinkNews’ reviews on GlassDoor, a website where employees can review their workplace experience anonymously, suggests that working for Cohen and his family and friends may not be the most pleasant experience.
Whistleblowers allege that PinkNews may have fudged the numbers on their annual revenue over the last few years in order to make The Times’ Top 100 Fastest Growing Companies list. It’s unclear exactly how much profit the “entertainment content powerhouse” makes, but it’s indisputable that they’re raking in upwards of one million pounds a year, which begs the question: How much money could sincere reporting on trans news possibly cost them?
Cohen may view reporting honestly and passionately about the transgender community and our struggles over the last several years as “some sort of charity” because it risks PinkNews’ relationships with large sponsors and advertisers. Conversely, at Assigned Media, we’re proud to employ as many transgender and gender diverse journalists and creatives as possible, receiving all of our funding from readers who have a vested interest in seeing unbiased, independent reporting on trans news thrive.
Perhaps this abhorrent betrayal of the trans community can serve as a lesson, then, that allowing large corporate sponsors into our spaces will never result in positive outcomes for the marginalized people we report on. It may also be indicative of the fraught relationship between the cis white gay men who think the war against anti-LGBTQ+ activism and legislation ended with Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015 and the trans community.
Regardless, we appreciate whistleblowers helping former employees expose conditions at PinkNews, and hope to see some form of reconciliation and major changes at the entertainment content powerhouse. But we won’t hold our breath.
Alyssa Steinsiek is a professional writer who spends too much time playing video games!
