19/ We are learning more about the unsettling reality that vulnerable people, often women & children, have been treated as stones to pave the road to some men's success. They deserve better. We *have* to do better.
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9/ How many quietly stopped inviting him to their event, but only bothered to protect their own reputations by keeping that decision silent? How many watched & chuckled at the young women fawning over him as he tried to get some lunch, saying “Well that’s David, for ya!”
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10/ He’s carried on creating professional opportunities for young pjs that can facilitate toxic, predatory behavior. His work continues to be sold, celebrated, and validated by powerful industry entities. His victims watch the rest of us as we watch him carry on.
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11/ (To get ahead of this very boring, black and white defense – I’m not saying every woman has been hurt & that many haven’t benefited from his teaching. Do not be tempted to derail and weigh up his value as an educator against the pain he’s caused. It’s gross.)
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12/ There is 0% chance that folks at
@magnumphotos
have been blissfully unaware of his reputation for decades. I want it to be extremely clear that it will be a lie, and a blatant slap in the face to his victims if they say they didn't know when this inevitably gets unearthed.
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13/ The complicity & silent on-looking across the industry has directly enabled the pain & trauma of women. Careers lost to the fallout and damage it does to women’s aspirations. This is why I wrote this article in 2017. Welcome, we’ve come full circle.
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14/ As a survivor of sexual assault, I know that a powerful door to healing is acknowledgement. Knowing that everyone secretly knew often makes it feel *much* worse. To publicly have the source of your pain acknowledged is validating & restorative in a way words cannot describe.
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15/ He didn’t lay a finger on me. I was lucky to have had a colleague step in to stop me from entering a potentially bad situation. But if sharing my passing interaction makes someone feel less alone, it’s the very least they deserve after our collective years of silence.
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16/ It is our literal job to pursue truth & seek accountability for the record. What moral leg can we stand on if we can’t do that amongst our own? As someone exploited by multiple men in this industry, the hypocrisy I’ve seen over the years is utterly demoralizing, exhausting.
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17/ Countless stories have been untold & photos not taken by women who stopped pursuing their careers because of experiences with predatory men. It’s hard to partake when you're betrayed by an industry that's very mission is to expose wrongdoing. You get worn down.
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18/ Whether it’s in regards to his treatment of his photographic subjects or his peers - Consent matters. Intentions matter. Ethics matter. Respect matters. Complicity and exploitation can sometimes be a fine, blurry line – but this, I assure you, is not one of those cases.
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20/ In order to do better, we have to embrace the discomfort of examining our own complicity when it comes to sexual exploitation in the name of photography, and make transparent statements and decisions to right these wrongs for a more equitable and ethical industry.
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