Toxic Culture Scandal Rocks ArtsEd: Chair Quits After Deadline’s Exposé

Summary:

• ArtsEd chair Brian Brody steps down as the head of ArtsEd after bullying allegations against principal Julie Spencer.
• In the meantime, Farida Mannan has taken up his position as interim chairperson of the board.
• This is the second time ArtsEd is being accused of toxic student-teacher culture in as many years.

ArtsEd chair Brian Brodie has quit for ‘personal reasons’ following the backlash over the board’s handling of bullying allegations at the prestigious London Drama School.

Brodie was a financial services executive at the Andrew Lloyd Webber-backed ArtsEd since July 2022. His last action before quitting was launching an independent, barrister-led inquiry after Deadline accused ArtsEd principal Julie Spencer of misconduct.

On Friday, trustee Farida Mannan informed the parents of ArtsEd students about Brodie’s departure in an email, and she’s taken the interim chair for now. Meanwhile, Spencer is on medical leave and will not resume his duties until the investigation ends. 

I appreciate that the last few weeks have been immensely challenging for the organization. The allegations raised in recent media coverage are serious and do not reflect our values or the organization we want to be.

The ArtsEd board faced a barrage of criticisms from over a hundred parents, who questioned the board’s response to complaints against Spencer. This includes an audio leak where Spencer is heard branding his students as ‘snakes’ and threatening them with legal action.

In her email, Mannan echoed the board’s sentiments and apologized for the same. ArtsEd’s acting chair wrote,’It is clear to me that we have communicated poorly and ineffectively with you on some of these matters in the last few weeks, and this has placed an undue burden upon you,’

Mannan further disclosed that Ghazaleh Rezaie, the lawyer hired to probe the allegations, is expected to deliver her findings to the board in March next year. Meanwhile, several sources have claimed to possess evidence to further the cause of the students.

It is the second investigation that ArtsEd is facing in as many years. Last time, barrister Rebecca Tuck sued the board for its ‘lack of regard’ for the student’s wellbeing and exposed their history of favoritism, misconduct, and bullying.

I appreciate that concerns have been raised about undertaking another investigation less than three years after the Rebecca Tuck KC review. We are fully aware that any review of this kind will mean a significant commitment of time and resources, but we believe that it is the fair, appropriate and responsible course of action, and demonstrates how serious we are about holding ourselves to the highest standards.

Mannan

Finally, Lloyd Webber, ArtsEd’s president, had not commented on this matter at the time of writing. We’ll follow up with more updates soon.