Leon Wieseltier was accused of “workplace harassment” on an anonymous list circulating called “Sh--ty Media Men. Leon Wieseltier acknowledges 'misdeeds' with female colleagues Former New Republic owner says famed literary editor was investigated for sexual harassment in 2014.

A company backed by Laurene Powell Jobs, the philanthropist and widow of Steve Jobs, severed ties with former New Republic literary editor Leon Wieseltier after learning of “past inappropriate workplace conduct,” the company said in a statement.

Wieseltier, who commandeered the back-of-book at the The New Republic for three decades, was to helm a new journal for Emerson Collective, which is backed by Powell Jobs, who recently agreed to acquire the majority of The Atlantic magazine. The first issue of the magazine, Idea, was expected to run this month. The staff, which included veteran editor and literary critic Adam Kirsch, has been let go.


Wieseltier, in the statement, acknowledged that he engaged in behavior with female colleagues that left them feeling “demeaned,” and offered an apology.

“For my offenses against some of my colleagues in the past I offer a shaken apology and ask for their forgiveness,” Wieseltier said in a statement. “The women with whom I worked are smart and good people. I am ashamed to know that I made any of them feel demeaned and disrespected. I assure them that I will not waste this reckoning.”

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“And I am profoundly sorry to my extraordinary collaborators at the journal we began together that the misdeeds of my past have made it impossible to go forward,” he continued. “My gratitude to them is boundless.”

Shortly after the revelations broke about film mogul Harvey Weinstein’s history of sexual harassment, former women staffers at The New Republic began sharing stories about Wieseltier, according to sources familiar with the private discussions.

Wieseltier was also accused of “workplace harassment” on an anonymous list circulating called “Sh--ty Media Men” that’s having reverberations in the industry. Some names on the anonymous list, which was not intended for publication, have surfaced and one publication, BuzzFeed, is investigating allegations after some of its staffers were included on it.

It’s unclear what allegations about Wieseltier, specifically, made their way to Emerson. But Wieseltier often made sexually charged comments in the workplace, according to former staffers, who spoke to POLITICO under the condition of anonymity. Wieseltier left The New Republic along with editor Franklin Foer in a staff-wide exodus in late 2014 following a dispute with then-owner Chris Hughes over the magazine's direction.

On Tuesday night, Hughes told POLITICO in a statement that he had looked into Wieseltier's behavior after hearing from a building manager that the literary editor had allegedly made unwanted advances on an employee of the management company.

"In October of 2014, The New Republic received notice from the building management company of our Washington office that an employee of the building had experienced unwanted sexual advances and harassment by the literary editor Leon Wieseltier," Hughes said in a statement. "Our CEO and I immediately moved to ensure that the woman was protected by bringing in outside counsel to investigate the situation. Representatives from the building made clear to us that the woman in question had not submitted a complaint, but another of their employees had been concerned. We directed Mr. Wieseltier to immediately cease any communication with her, and I made sure he knew The New Republic had a zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment of any kind."

Hughes sold The New Republic in 2016.

The first issue of Idea magazine, Wieseltier's new venture with Powell Jobs, was recently completed and expected to debut this month. A literary journal with a philosophical edge, Idea attracted buzz largely because of Wieseltier’s reputation as an intellectual. His title on the Emerson Collective website was “philosopher.”

The 65-year-old Wieseltier connected Powell Jobs with The Atlantic magazine owner David Bradley, who announced plans in July to sell the magazine to Emerson Collective. In addition to Idea, Emerson Collective has helped support other journalistic projects including The Marshall Project, ProPublica and Mother Jones.

In its statement, Emerson Collective said: “Upon receiving information related to past inappropriate workplace conduct, Emerson Collective ended its business relationship with Leon Wieseltier, including a journal planned for publication under his editorial direction. The production and distribution of the journal has been ended."

