Estonian National Opera’s Director Accused of Sexual Harassment
By Francisco SalazarThe Estonian National Opera’s director Aivar Mäe has been accused of sexual harassment by several women.
Reporters, after speaking to a dozen current and former female employees at the National Opera, revealed in an article released by Eesti Ekspress that the director had made inappropriate or humiliating comments to several female colleagues and touched them inappropriately. According to the report, the harassment began around 2013 and continued through 2020.
According to the Eesti Ekspress, the women did not feel comfortable approaching the board of the theater, because many were Mäe’s friends. They also believed that the Ministry of Culture would be ineffective.
The women collectively approached the newspaper anonymously.
Mäe, who has been the director of the company since 2009, denied the allegations and called them untrue. However, he recognized one of the incidents and said it was taken out of context.
He said, “Is it really harassment if I summon someone to the office and then ask when the last time they had had sex was? Hello! Estonia theater director?”
The council of the Estonian National Opera (Rahvusooper) will convene for an extraordinary meeting to discuss the allegations of harassment.
In a statement, Tarvi Sits, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Culture and a member of the Council of the Estonian National Opera, said, “These allegations are serious, they must be discussed.”
Meanwhile Arne Mikk, chairman of the council of the Estonian National Opera, told ERR that the theater has its own traditions, such as hugging, and that this can be interpreted in many ways. Moreover, he noted that he had never heard about the accusations before.
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