In the wake of allegations of misconduct by music publicist Kirt Webster, including a report by the Scene on Tuesday about alleged sexual harassment of an aspiring country singer, his firm, Webster PR, announced that it will rebrand as Westby Public Relations and Webster will take “some time away from the business.”
The changes come as several individuals have contacted the Scene about ongoing issues at the firm and about conduct by Webster, including a second country music hopeful alleging sexual misconduct. Longtime business partner Jeremy Westby has taken over as the head of the renamed firm. No allegations have been made about Westby’s conduct. Reached by the Scene, he declined to comment.
Former employees describe a workplace where Webster’s harassment and abuse were utterly commonplace, and turnover was nearly constant. They describe a firm largely staffed with young newcomers to the PR world who had nothing to compare the work atmosphere to. The people who spoke to the Scene requested anonymity because they still work in the music industry and feared retribution.
One woman tells the Scene that Webster PR had “the most toxic work environment” she’d ever been in. Staffers were drawn to Webster’s firm, she says, by his hall-of-fame client list.
“He has amazing clients, and you do get to have once-in-a-lifetime experiences with him,” she says. “He knows that, and he uses it.”
The same woman says Webster regularly made abusive and sexually suggestive comments about staffers in front of their colleagues. That kind of verbal abuse, she says, would escalate sometimes. On one occasion, she says, Webster grabbed her by her ponytail and made a face as if she were performing oral sex.
The Scene provided a list of eight questions raised in this story to DVL Seigenthaler, who put out a statement on behalf of Webster Tuesday. Attempts to reach Webster directly were unsuccessful and a spokesperson from DVL declined to comment on the new allegations on behalf of Webster or the company.
A man who worked at the firm for nearly two years tells the Scene that he first witnessed Webster’s inappropriate behavior during his job interview, which he says took place at night at Webster’s house. After a set of standard interview questions, the former employee says, Webster began to ask him sexual questions like, “What’s the craziest or most risqué thing you’ve ever done?” and, “Would you have sex with someone in front of people?” Later on during his time at the firm, the man says Webster asked him to come to his house to join him in his hot tub or to watch pornography with him — invitations the man says he rebuffed.
After Austin Rick alleged to the Scene earlier this week that Webster used his position as a music industry heavyweight to make sexual advances on him, a second person has come forward to say that he was subject to the same behavior this year.
The singer, a young male country aspirant, says that after moving to Nashville a year ago, he was introduced to Webster, who he says took an interest in his career. The singer spoke to the Scene on the condition of anonymity.
The singer alleges to the Scene that Webster invited him to his house after a show. “He was just like, ‘You want to meet Reba and Dolly, don’t you?’ And then he was like, ‘You know you have to make sacrifices to be a star, don’t you?’ He told me after that he was going to have to see me naked. It ended up happening, and I’m definitely not proud of it. That was the first time.
“He wanted me take a shower, and I said, ‘No, I’ve already showered,’ and I felt really uncomfortable and said I was going to go. Then he was like, ‘Put your clothes back on, I’m sorry.’ ”
The singer tells the Scene that Webster used the same phrasing with him that Austin Rick alleges Webster used almost a decade ago — “I want to see fireworks in your career” — in an attempt to become sexually involved with him.
The singer also alleges that, following a concert where Webster provided VIP passes to a client’s show, Webster again made unwanted advances.
“I was pretty drunk, and I rode back with his assistant to his house, and his assistant lives in his guest house,” the singer says. “I was asleep on the couch, and when I woke up, [Webster] he was messing with me. He was like, ‘It’s fine,’ and I’m like, ‘No, it’s not.’ And he says, ‘You want to be a star, don’t you?’ And it’s so weird and I’m embarrassed, and I didn’t know what to do about it, and I don’t know how to talk about it.”
The singer says Webster continued to text him after the incident and invited him to his office.
“I get there and he brings me into this room where they do filming for TV shows and stuff,” the singer says. “He says, ‘Sit on the couch.’ And I said OK. And then he said to pull my pants down. I said, ‘Kirt, I’m tired of doing this,’ and he’s like ‘If you’re not going to work with me, I’m not going to work with you.’ And I was like, ‘I really don’t want to make a music career doing things like this, it’s embarrassing.’ He wanted to give me a blow job, and he kept going on and on, and I let him that night. And that was the last time. And I haven’t seen him since.”
