The White House has hired Pulitzer-winning photographer Patrick Witty. Witty had left National Geographic as deputy director of photography in 2017 after the magazine launched an investigation into alleged predatory sexual behavior toward female colleagues. After the news broke, and the allegations that were first reported in an exclusive article published by Vox, several women, especially in the context of the #MeToo movement, had come forward accusing the famous photographer. Witty denied many accusations but had apologized. At the time, Witty’s lawyer had sent Vox a statement denying that he ever engaged in ““behavior that amounts to sexual aggression,” and apologizing for some of his behavior. The statement was also accompanied by a message from the photographer: “I’ve never been accused of wrongdoing of any kind in the workplace, so I was shocked and dismayed when I first learned of the accusations against me.”
The anonymous accusers included freelance photographers and editors whose careers could have been greatly influenced by the prominent positions held by Witty. During the time of the allegations made against him, Vox reported, “many women claimed that Witty exercised this same power over them when they rejected his advances, claiming that he threatened them with professional retaliation. Others claimed he put them in a position that damaged their credibility on the spot.”
Today the photographer writes on Substack and has a large following on Instagram. Neither he nor the White House has commented on the news.
