UPDATE: FanX co-founder apologizing after harassment dispute with author

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention co-founder is apologizing after a controversial Twitter battle between him and a popular Utah author over a sexual harassment complaint.

Best-selling author Shannon Hale reached out to FanX co-founder Bryan Brandenburg about her concerns attending the convention this year following harassment allegations surrounding a conference attendee and how the conference handled the claims.

Monday, the official FanX account tweeted a screenshot of the author’s email with a response but failed to block out her email address. The tweet has since been deleted. Hale tweeted a screenshot of it, redacting her email address.

Hale then tweeted a picture of another part of Brandenburg’s email response in which he called the #MeToo movement “trendy” — something that she says was left off of the FanX tweet.

The post sparked immediate outrage. In response, we’ve seen tweets from a handful of local authors saying they won’t be attending FanX this year, which is scheduled for Sept. 6 to Sept. 8, at the Salt Palace Convention Center.

For example, author Brendan Reichs tweeted he will no longer make an appearance.

Monday, Brandenburg apologized for his handling of reports of harassment and the Twitter back-and-forth too. He also posted a blog on the FanX page, apologizing for his behavior.

He says, “Moving forward, our goal is to create a safe environment for everyone. Training for staff will happen within the next 90 days, so we are equipped to handle sexual harassment and assault reports. Our new harassment policy now includes instructions on how to report an incident anonymously or in person. It also clearly states the sanctions that will be taken when a report comes in.
The harassment policy also includes more defined behavior expectations for our attendees, guests, agents, cosplayers, panelists, moderators, staff, vendors, vendor models, and volunteers. Consent is key. These improvements would not have happened without your voice.”

On her blog, Hale says she’s seen Brandenburg’s apology. She writes, “I am sure he is sorry. This has been a PR disaster for him and his organization. After all this, I do not personally feel that an apology, made under duress, is enough to restore my confidence in FanX and its leadership.” She continues that she will not be attending the conference. She says, “I do not want to be the catalyst for taking down FanX. I really hope they turn it around.” She adds that there are years of problems and a pattern of behavior, so she’s “not sure what it will take for them to regain the confidence of many of us in the Utah fan community.”

http://shannonhale.tumblr.com/post/174150320945/my-fanx-craziness-annotated