The Human Society's board of directors cleared Wayne Pacelle of wrongdoing, but Pacelle, facing a staff revolt and fleeing donors, stepped down less than 24 hours later. | Jason Kempin/Getty Images Humane Society CEO resigns amid sexual harassment allegations

Humane Society President and CEO Wayne Pacelle resigned Friday amid a spiraling crisis over sexual harassment allegations against him and a former top executive.

Things had gotten progressively worse for Pacelle — one of the most well-known animal rights advocates in the country — since news broke last week of an internal investigation of allegations dating back to 2005. The board of directors cut the investigation short on Thursday and cleared Pacelle of wrongdoing, but Pacelle, facing a staff revolt and fleeing donors, stepped down less than 24 hours later.


“The last few days have been very hard for our entire family of staff and supporters,” board chairman Rick Bernthal said in a statement. “We are profoundly grateful for Wayne’s unparalleled level of accomplishments and service to the cause of animal protection and welfare.”

The Humane Society's statement did not include remarks from Pacelle, who has denied wrongdoing.

An internal memo by Bernthal, sent to staff on Friday, said there was no "credible evidence" that Pacelle had crossed the line with female staffers — even as he acknowledged the board ended the investigation early due to leaks. In addition, the memo says that a board member was asked to step down after making insensitive comments about sexual harassment to POLITICO and other news media.

The Humane Society released part of the memo on Friday. POLITICO obtained a complete copy.

The organization was thrown into turmoil this week after the allegations against Pacelle and another prominent advocate, Paul Shapiro, were reported by The Washington Post and POLITICO. Six board members resigned Thursday after the board decided there wasn't enough evidence to fire Pacelle.

A Humane Society employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told POLITICO that about 100 staff members had joined an informal group as of Thursday afternoon calling for Pacelle's ouster. As of 11 a.m., the employee said, 50 donors had called the front desk to rescind their contributions. A change.org petition calling for Pacelle's resignation received more than 1,000 signatures by Thursday afternoon.

The Humane Society in December hired the outside law firm Morgan Lewis to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct against Pacelle after an employee reported he forcibly kissed her as an intern in 2005. "Our purpose," Bernthal wrote in the memo, "was to assure fairness, confidentiality, protection of our complainant, and to give Wayne the due process that everyone deserves."

Then on Tuesday, a memo of the law firm's findings was leaked to The Washington Post. Based on 33 interviews, the memo cited at least two other allegations of Pacelle acting inappropriately around female subordinates and a perception that certain employees were given promotions because of "romantic relationships" with Pacelle.

"As a result, the confidentiality protecting our witnesses was totally compromised," Bernthal wrote in his memo to staff on Friday, "A great unfairness to Wayne resulted, too, because the allegations — many of which were unsupported — were out there for all to see. We decided that this process no longer worked, and, last night, we closed the investigation. ... The board reviewed the information assembled and determined that there was not sufficient evidence to remove Wayne from his position as CEO. There were some directors who wanted to continue the investigation or had other concerns. Six board members resigned, and I feel a sense of loss about their departures."

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POLITICO found that six women had complained about Shapiro, the farm animal protection vice president, in 2016, saying he openly discussed sex in the office and stripped in front of a female subordinate on a campaign trip. In addition, POLITICO reported that Shapiro allegedly asked a female staffer to "take one for the team" by sleeping with a donor and sent pornography to male colleagues. Under Pacelle's leadership, he was moved to a new department to “advance HSUS’ broader agenda," according to a memo sent to staff at the time.

Shapiro, who left the Humane Society this month, has denied the allegations.

In addition, board member Erika Brunson resigned after she was quoted in POLITICO saying women should "get tougher, don't go around whining, saying you’ve been sexually harassed.” Brunson told The New York Times on Thursday: “Which red-blooded male hasn’t sexually harassed somebody? Women should be able to take care of themselves.”