Niniane Wang, one of three women who spoke on the record about investor Justin Caldbeck’s alleged sexual harassment, said she fears people will actually believe his apology.
One of the women who accused VC Justin Caldbeck of sexual harassment doesn’t believe his apology
“I do not believe that someone can harass women for 10 years, tell the people who exposed him to go fuck themselves, and then 24 hours later, thank them for bringing him self-awareness.”
Screengrab from YouTube
Caldbeck, the founder of investment firm Binary Capital, announced he was taking a leave of absence in response to an article in The Information in which six women accused him of sexual harassment.
But Wang wrote today that she doesn’t buy it, especially since Caldbeck initially denied the accusations.
“I do not believe that someone can harass women for 10 years, tell the people who exposed him to go fuck themselves, and then 24 hours later, thank them for bringing him self-awareness,” she wrote in a comment on Medium.
Wang, the CEO of 3-D animation company Evertoon and the former CTO of Minted, said she had been trying to expose Caldbeck for seven years.
“He kept threatening reporters, and it was incredibly difficult to get this article out. He fought tooth and nail,” she wrote. “Then he writes this apology (that was surely drafted by a crisis PR firm), and suddenly I’m seeing people say “We’re all human and make mistakes” and “I’m glad he’s learning” and “What a heartfelt apology”.”
In his statement yesterday, Caldbeck said, “The past 24 hours have been the darkest of my life. I have made many mistakes over the course of my career, some of which were brought to light this week. To say I’m sorry about my behavior is a categorical understatement. Still, I need to say it: I am so, so sorry.”
Originally, Caldbeck called The Information’s story an attack on his character and that he “enjoyed respectful relationships with female founders, business partners, and investors.”
In The Information’s report, three female founders — Wang, Susan Ho and Leiti Hsu — went on the record to say that his actions ranged from groping under a table, and in another case, unwanted late-night text messages.
“My fear is that if people actually believe that, what if the leave of absence doesn’t become permanent?” Wang asked. “Are people going to let him come back in six months when he’s ‘reflected’ and learned his lesson?”
Recode has reached out to Wang for further comment.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
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