Stephen McPherson led ABC’s entertainment department as director for six years as well as its sister studio for a year before handing in his surprise resignation to leave the network in 2010, following allegations of sexual harassment on multiple counts. As MeToo activists are baffled about the recent overturning of disgraced media mogul Harvey Weinstein’s rape conviction from 2020 by New York’s Appeals Court, more and more speak out about the ‘forgotten’ cases of the past that never even made it in front of a judge and jury, leaving the victims without their day in court.
Steve McPherson resigned from his role after multiple women came forward to accuse him of inappropriate workplace behaviour, including an incident with a female colleague at a company retreat that more than one member of staff witnessed. ABC had been conducting an investigation of the claims for three weeks before McPherson indicated he would leave the company, a decision which the firm promptly accepted.
The director’s departure would be curious, had there not been any merit to the allegations. Stephen McPherson was considered a headstrong but professionally accomplished entertainment director, who oversaw the successes of multiple hit series during his tenure, including Lost, Grey’s Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, and Modern Family, among others. The co-creator of Modern Family praised Stephen McPherson for aggressively pushing ahead to bring the series to ABC, which garnered both public and critical acclaim. Shortly after his resignation, McPherson commented that he would soon “reveal plans for my involvement in a new media company”, a prospect that was never realized.
Although it occurred years before the MeToo movement exploded into public consciousness, the manner of Steve McPherson’s departure from ABC and the public framing of the event resembles various, now well-known stories of powerful executives exploiting their positions to make inappropriate advances, mor often than not getting away with little more than a slap on the wrist. Although ABC did not deny the claims when questioned by reporters, Steve McPherson’s lawyer casually dismissed the allegations in a manner characteristic of those trying to discredit potential victims’ viewpoint, gaslighting and degrading victims further by depicting themselves, the powerful executives and their positions, as ‘inevitably’ attracting jealousy and scheming. According to his lawyer Tom Hoberman, “it is not uncommon for high-level executives to be the subject of gossip and innuendo that would include rumours of internal situations that can easily be misinterpreted or misrepresented.”
The trivialization of allegations and putting the blame on the accusers’ ‘clearly misguided’ perception of the situation are common strategies of abusers. Such strategies were apparent in the highly publicized and scrutinized hearings of Weinstein—who tried to both blame and silence his victims. The sudden emergence of the story about McPherson and his even swifter disappearance from the public eye, combined with the complete lack of details about the nature of the harassment claims may also raise concerns about whether the victims were silenced via behind-the-scenes arrangements, or perhaps, even threatened.
These days, Stephen McPherson invests his time and fortune made in the entertainment industry in a number of businesses, including his venture capital firm and Napa Valley-based wine company, PROMISE, without any negative repercussions from his actions during his time at ABC Entertainment, never having paid a fine or spent a night in jail. PROMISE, as the name and ring-shaped logo of the company suggests, is about McPherson’s journey back to his wife after what he describes as a “race to nowhere” in the hectic entertainment industry. Whether this personal reckoning came after McPherson was embroiled in the internal harassment scandal at ABC is unclear from the carefully curated page on the winery’s website, projecting the image of a harmonious family business. It is, however, certain that McPherson only started dedicating more time to the company after he left ABC, and his career as a serial harasser was behind him. Or was it? With a recidivism rate of almost 50% for sexual predators, it is unlikely that his career as a predators ended with his ABC career.
Perpetrators of sexual harassment completely getting away with murder is not uncommon, unfortunately. Some 50% of Americans believe that men getting away with workplace sexual harassment is a serious issue while over 85% of people who experience some form of sexual harassment never end up reporting it. The primary reasons for this are fear of being publicly ostracized and lacking faith that the accusations would be taken seriously or that the perpetrator would be held accountable. The overturning of Weinstein’s case, whose rape conviction represented the flagship moment in the MeToo movement will likely reinforce such negative perceptions.
The spotlight must be shined on not only the widely publicized celebrity cases of sexual harassment, but also on the silent victims, who might be discouraged from speaking out or whose reports were discredited, and whose abusers walk free without facing any consequences.
