The CEO of activist clothing line Feminist Apparel fired his entire staff after they found out he was an admitted sexual abuser, according to a report.
Alan Martofel — whose Philadelphia-based firm hawks T-shirts that proclaim, “Misogyny kills” and “Don’t tell me to smile” — admitted to forcing an unconscious woman to touch his genitals and other inappropriate sex acts in a social media post, according to refinery29.com.
“[It’s] toxic masculinity at its f–king finest,” fumed Rebecca Green, the company’s art director — who was canned after discovering her boss’ indiscretions. “I feel righteous and angry.”
Martofel made the admission on his personal Facebook page, recalling specific times he had sexually abused women, the website reported.
“I’m someone who’s guilty of it. I’ve grinded up on women on buses and at concerts without their consent. I’ve made out with ‘the drunk chick’ at a party because it was easier. I’ve put a woman’s hand on my d–k while she was sleeping,” Martofel admitted in the October 2013 post.
He claimed to be a recovering abuser and said that launching the feminist firm was a “humble attempt” to “solve” the problem.
But the admission came back to haunt him last month when Feminist Apparel was tagged in a post accusing him of rape — and staffers learned the true origin story of the company.
“This was a place that claimed to be ethical and feminist,” Ryker Fry, the company’s now-fired office and HR manager, told Refinery29. “It was so hard to hear that Alan had done those things and hidden them from us, because that meant that we had been working for an abuser who was taking money from abuse victims.”
When staffers confronted him about it, he at first agreed to step down, saying he considered himself “a liability to the company,” staffers told the site.
But on July 1, all nine employees received an email notifying them they were fired.
“Due to transitions the company is currently undertaking, I regret to inform you…you are no longer employed by Feminist Apparel,” the email said.
Martofel defended the post on a company blog, saying he chose to openly share his past.
“This was not a private message someone dug up. This was something I went out of my way to share with my community at the time as a means to spark dialogue around the negative impact of toxic masculinity,” he wrote. “I acknowledged my wrongdoing and committed myself to work within this movement.”
“I was made aware that [staffers] unequivocally, do not share my views on either business or feminism,” he wrote.
Other feminist-slogan T-shirts sold by the firm include phrases such as “Trans rights are human rights” and “Pizza rolls — not gender roles.”
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