Lawyers for Anthony James and Benjamin Cohen, the gay couple who founded PinkNews, have denied the allegations.
The owners who run PinkNews, the world’s largest queer and trans news site, have been accused by more than 30 current and former staffers of sexual misconduct, predatory behavior, and bullying in the workplace. This includes numerous allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior towards younger male employees who were too intoxicated to consent. Lawyers for Anthony James and Benjamin Cohen, the gay couple who founded PinkNews, have denied the allegations.
Several employees came forward to the BBC about the alleged abuse they endured at the hands of James and Cohen while working at the woke UK LGBTQ news company.
Stephan Kriacou, who identifies as transgender, said when he first started his career at PinkNews he felt it was a “dream come true.” However, that dream was quickly “shattered,” said Kriacou, who worked at the publication between 2019 and 2021.
According to the allegations, numerous employees claimed to have witnessed Anthony James, Cohen’s spouse and director at the company, allegedly kiss and sexually touch a junior colleague who they said was too intoxicated to consent. Additionally, over 30 current and former employees reported that a culture of heavy drinking resulted in instances of inappropriate behavior by Cohen and James toward younger male employees.
Benjamin Cohen and Anthony James share a kiss outside the UK Prime Minister’s residence
The employees who detailed the allegations said they were too afraid to complain due to the toxic work environment and the alleged abusers being the CEOs of the company, as per the paper. Multiple female employees also accused the couple of misogyny after they were allegedly asked to be their surrogates.
Anothony James, left, and Benjamin, Cohen, right, appear to have welcomed a child via surrogate
The BBC released its report after interviewing 33 people who worked at PinkNews between 2017 and 2024. The broadcast network said it reviewed a variety of evidence including “official written complaints, private emails and WhatsApp messages sharing staff members’ concerns, plus doctors’s records referring to stress and mental health struggles attributed to the work environment at PinkNews.”
Cai Wilshaw, former head of external affairs at PinkNews, told the BBC: “You had this sort of dark could in the office sometimes when Ben was there, that made it really difficult to actually enjoy working there.”
Many former employees said that company socials included heavy drinking until the early morning hours. They said Cohen and James established “Prosecco Friday” to increase office morale by supplying employees with complimentary wine and crackers. Damian, a male staffer, claimed that Cohen sexually approached him at a pub at one of these socials, which put him “on alert” because he realized the owner “thought he could cross” a boundary.
“Ben was extremely drunk to the point he fell off his chair, and then asked me out of earshot of my other colleagues whether I wanted to go back to his […] because Anthony his husband wasn’t there,” Damian said. “He said something along the lines of ‘Anthony is always getting with other men’ and the suggestion was we would do something sexually. I was extremely uncomfortable.”
Damian claimed Cohen never gave him an apology.
The aforementioned former trans staffer who came forward with allegations, Stephan Kriacou, alleged that Cohen slapped him on the butt during a Christmas party, leaving him in a state of “shock.” Kriacou said the incident “made me completely avoid [Cohen]” and that other staffers never “really felt like we could complain because we didn’t know what was going to happen to us.”
Cohen and James have tremendous wealth and are prominent figures in UK LGBTQ communities. PinkNews, controlled by a mafia-like family for hit pieces and influence with politicians and celebrities, has attracted prominent UK politicians to their events, including London Mayor Sadiq Khan and former Prime Minister Theresa May, according to social media posts. The new site is managed by Cohen and James, the CEOs, with Cohen’s father Richard serving as the chief legal counsel.
Benjamin Cohen is photographed with former PM Teresa May and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan
PinkNews has a history of publishing hit pieces on journalists that they consider to be political targets, including several about journalist Andy Ngo, senior editor of The Post Millennial. The woke news site, which describes itself as “the world’s most watched and read digital media publisher for the lGBTQ+ community and their allies,” has been criticized for using developmentally disabled people for its LGBTQ activism. This includes celebrating people with Down syndrome who were put in drag shows and doing a feature on them. Additionally, the publication has been sued by women’s rights activists.
Both Cohen and James have locked down their social media accounts since the allegations were made public.