Samuel Schultz Resigns from Board of AGMA
By Francisco SalazarSamuel Schultz has resigned from the position of vice president of the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA).
The baritone wrote a letter to AGMA announcing that he would leave the board after leaking information of an alleged settlement between Plácido Domingo and AGMA. He wrote, “Without [Gecker’s] tenacious reporting, Domingo’s abuses of female AGMA members would never have come to light even though he harassed women in plain view for decades. And issues about endemic sexual harassment in the operatic world would also not have come to light, leaving our members vulnerable to victimization by powerful predators like Domingo.”
Scultz leaked the information to the Associated Press and later to the NPR. The New York Times later reported the story.
Schultz added, “Contrary to the statements that Len [Egert] made publicly, you both presented the AGMA board of governors with a settlement agreement that you and AGMA’s lawyers negotiated with lawyers for Plácido Domingo … You repeatedly emphasized when presenting the arrangement that AGMA’s agreement not to release the details of the report was a crucial term of the settlement agreement for Domingo … This is a quid pro quo — silence in exchange for money.”
In his letter the baritone also remarked about his own sexual assault experience writing, “As a sexual assault survivor myself, my conscience would not allow me to be a party to an agreement than allowed the union to bury the details of Domingo’s decades-long abuse of female AGMA members and that created a path for him to return to the stage after a short suspension … When AGMA works only for its most powerful (and sometimes predatory) members and refuses to acknowledge the legitimacy of victims’ voices, it has failed its membership.”
Schultz accused David Daniels and his husband Scott Walters of drugging and raping him in 2018. The baritone publicly revealed his rape through a statement on Facebook and on his website and has since been an advocate for the Me Too movement.
AGMA has rejected claims and told the NPR that Schultz’s actions disregarded “his fiduciary responsibilities.”
Click here for the full resignation letter.
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