A senior Vice Media employee, Jason Mojica, has been suspended as the company launches an internal investigation surrounding his involvement in a recent accusation of misconduct, TheWrap has learned.
An individual familiar with the matter said that Mojica, who serves as an executive producer at the company’s documentary arm, Vice Documentary Films, was suspended on Thursday while the investigation is ongoing.
Mojica was named in an explosive article in the Daily Beast earlier this week which described an allegation of sexual harassment against former L.A. bureau chief Kaj Larsen.
While both Larsen, and his accuser, Phoebe Barghouty, are no longer with the company, the article fingered Mojica as contributing to a broader culture of workplace discomfort.
Barghouty told the Daily Beast that when she first met Mojica, then Vice’s editor-in-chief, he asked if she had signed the company’s nontraditional workplace agreement before inquiring how “flexible” she was. (Mojica denied this account to The Daily Beast.).
Another former employee told Daily Beast reporter Brandy Zadrozny Mojica should have been fired long ago for his treatment of female employees.
“We do not tolerate harassment, abusive behavior, assault or retaliation, and we will discipline anyone who engages in such conduct through a range of actions, including termination, as appropriate,” a Vice spokesperson told TheWrap. “We have immediately begun an investigation into this matter.”