SCANDAL! Hungarian director’s sexual harassment case

Previously this month, the József Katona Theatre revealed that a colleague of theirs had been fired for morally inappropriate behaviour towards co-workers. Later, Péter Gothár came forward with his identity and issued a public apology.

The theatre posted a statement on their Facebook page, announcing the firing of a then-unnamed worker on November 19th. They said in the post that a colleague “behaved in ways trespassing moral boundaries with the theatre’s employees.” The management offered psychological help to all those involved who may need it.

In the afternoon of November 20th, the theatre published another statement, this time written by Péter Gothár himself.

“A year ago, I approached a female co-worker of mine in the theatre in a morally inexcusable way. A few days later, I apologised and was forgiven,” he wrote, asking the public to forgive him as well.

The two statements are contradictory. The one by the theatre suggests multiple misbehaviours, while the one Gothár wrote only apologises for one, which happened a year ago. The University of Theatre and Film Arts, where Gothár is a professor, stated that Gothár himself requested an ethical examination.

One may question: why did they not come forward with the case before? Was there one or more misconducts? Why did they wait a year to fire Gothár if they had knowledge about several cases? How many women did Gothár harass? Have there been legal steps taken against Gothár?

Since the case blew up, the theatre has cancelled a play directed by Gothár, stopping it from being performed, informing fans that their already purchased tickets can and will be refunded.

The “Gothár-case” has also spread, and now the director of the theatre is also involved. Of course, how could he not be when one of his employees committed such an act, and said act was only brought to light a year later?