Publicis and DDB Mudra issue official statement promising investigation

Publicis and DDB Mudra promise to get to the depth of the issue; Tanmay Bhat and Gursimran Khamba step away from AIB.

The last two days saw many women from the Media & Advertising fraternity call out the harassment and sexism they have faced over the years. In a matter of two days, prominent industry names such as Ishrath Nawaz (Publicis), Brijesh Jocob (22feet Tribal Worldwide), Abhishek Agarwal (Boldkiln), and Raj Kurup (Creativeland Asia) surfaced, all on the charge of various degrees of harassment.

After a follow-up, to understand their side of things and what actions were taken to get to the bottom of the allegations DDB Mudra and Publicis shared an official quote,

A Publicis spokesperson told Social Samosa that an investigation is being conducted on priority and that Publicis has zero-tolerance towards workplace misconduct.

“We have taken note of the incidences reported in the tweets. We are deeply concerned by the seriousness of these allegations and are investigating them on priority. We will ascertain facts of the matter and see that the outcome is fair and just; and appropriate actions are taken as per the Company’s policy. We re-iterate that Publicis India has a zero-tolerance policy towards any type of workplace misconduct or abuse of power or harassment,” the spokesperson added.

Also Read: #MeToo Movement hits the Indian Media and Advertising Industry

DDB Mudra too shared a similar intention in their official reply claiming that within hours of being notified of the offences, the organization initiated the process of verifying the allegations and getting them investigated.
“On Sunday, an accusation of behaviors and actions that violate our code of conduct was levied against an individual at our agency, anonymously via a public post on a social media site. The accusation stands in stark contrast to our values and standards at 22feet Tribal Worldwide and at the DDB Mudra Group more broadly, where it is our primary responsibility and commitment to provide our associates with a safe, fair and dignified workplace,” their official spokesperson said.

In a similar turn of events, AIB announced that Tanmay Bhat will be stepping away from AIB and will not be involved in the daily functioning of the company.

Statement pic.twitter.com/KR5tM2sYuX

— All India Bakchod (@AllIndiaBakchod) October 8, 2018

"We have been closely monitoring the sequence of events on social media around the allegations against AIB CO-founder and CEO, Tanmay Bhat. We cannot overlook Tanmay's role and in the light of this, he will be stepping away from his association with AIB until further notice," AIB’s official statement read.

Allegations against Gursimran Khamba came out earlier today, with an anonymous survivor sharing an experience of harassement and aggressive behavior from him.

Gursimran Khamba from @AllIndiaBakchod. The survivor wishes to stay anonymous. #MeToo #TimesUp #BelieveHer pic.twitter.com/B9PTYJT8LE

— hk {on a hiatus} (@PedestrianPoet) October 8, 2018

Khamba soon shared a statement on his personal Instagram account.

View this post on Instagram

My statement on the recent allegations against me

A post shared by Khamba (@gursimrankhamba) on Oct 8, 2018 at 2:30am PDT

Due to the same Gursimran Khamba too has been sent on a temporary leave of absence. For now, Ashish Sakya, Rohan Josh, and other senior team members shall be handling operations; AIB also shared that they aren’t sure if the company has any future at the moment.

With these investigations in place, the Indian M & A industry stands at a turning point as any action taken now determines a safe and secure fraternity in the future. Speak up - now is the time!