Costume Designer William Ivey Long Accused of Sexual Harassment

Award-winning costume designer William Ivey Long has been accused of sexual abuse, according to a report by NPR. Court Watson and Michael Martin allege that Long sexually abused them while they were in college working on a summer production in North Carolina called The Lost Colony around 20 years ago. These accusations follow Martin’s accusations in a 2018 BuzzFeed News piece. NPR also unearthed a 2002 lawsuit against Roanoke Island Historical Association, producing company of The Lost Colony, filed by former production manager Mary Elizabeth Stewart, which includes reports of other sexual misconduct allegations against Long.

Long’s lawyer Pearl Zuchlweski gave a statement to NPR saying that Long “empathically denies” the allegations and that he did not know about the 2002 lawsuit until the summer of 2020, but denies those allegations as well.

Both Watson and Martin allege being singled out by Long, who would engage in nonconsensual acts with them. Watson mentions an episode where Long got him extremely drunk and had sex with him. As Watson was inebriated and Long was in a position of power over him, Watson said the act was nonconsensual.

Martin references feeling like Long frequently singled him out, touching him and making sexually charged comments, at first in private but then performing these acts in front of other staff. Martin told NPR he felt dejected, as he felt unable to do anything about it due to Long’s power in the production and in the theatre industry as a whole.

“I realized that the only thing I could say back is ‘I quit,’ and you can’t quit because it’s your first job and it’s your dream,” he told NPR. “I didn’t have any reference. I just was like, ‘I guess this is the world you’re walking into, buddy. I guess this is what a job is, that the boss gets to be a total creep.’”

The #MeToo movement has not made its way entirely to Broadway the same way it has with other media. The theatre community has its sexual harassers and abusers, but there is a pattern of protecting those abusers. After the original 2018 allegations, Long went on to work on three Broadway productions and was nominated for a Tony Award for two of those.

Long is not alone in this. There has been a pattern in the theatre industry of abusers only being dealt with quietly – or not at all. Award-winning actor and performer Ben Vereen was accused of sexual harassment by two actresses in 2018 after he directed a 2015 production of Hair. Vereen apologized, admitting to the actions, and continues to work and is respected as a theatrical legend.

The culture of theatre can make it difficult for harassment to be identified and reported. Martin told BuzzFeed News in 2018 how people would tell him that he was not sexually harassed – it was just the way things were back then, or it was just how gay people were.

However, it seems as though the industry is beginning to take these allegations more seriously. Long has stepped away from working on his current Broadway show, Diana: The Musical, which just opened. His designs are still used in the show, but he is not involved with its opening.

The show’s producers told NPR, “Last summer, we were made aware of certain narratives about William that reference or republish claims of inappropriate sexual conduct that allegedly occurred in North Carolina 20 or more years ago. We feel strongly that all alleged victims should be heard. We have no knowledge of any sexual misconduct by William presently or at any time in the past, and we know that William categorically denies these claims. Nevertheless, William and the producers mutually agreed that he would step away from the production in order to address them in his own way.”

NPR also mentions that the American Theatre Wing investigated the allegations last year and quietly removed Long’s name from the ATW’s Advisory Committee. However, these statements were not made until NPR contacted these groups. Broadway is dealing with allegations, but quietly.

Now, more industry workers are speaking up about issues within the community and demanding better treatment. As Broadway returns, we hope that the proper action will be taken against abusers and that victims will not be ashamed to speak up.