Our thanks to a number of people for pointing us to this.
The parent company of Saatchi & Saatchi is Publicis. The BBC piece includes some weasel words from the CEO of Publicis:
“It is for the gravity of these statements that Kevin Roberts has been asked to take a leave of absence from Publicis Groupe effective immediately,” Publicis chief executive Maurice Levy said. “As a member of The Directoire, it will ultimately be the Publicis Groupe Supervisory Board’s duty to further evaluate his standing.”
He added: “While fostering a work environment that is inclusive of all talent is a collective responsibility, it is leadership’s job to nurture the career aspirations and goals of all our talent. Promoting gender equality starts at the top and the Groupe will not tolerate anyone speaking for our organisation who does not value the importance of inclusion.”
Truly pathetic.