SACRAMENTO — Conservative radio host Larry Elder, the Republican front-runner to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom if he is defeated in the Sept. 14 recall election, once said women should tolerate some crude language and behavior from men in the workplace and that sexual harassment doesn’t hold women back in their careers.
Elder outlined his views on workplace conduct in his 2000 book, “The Ten Things You Can’t Say in America,” in which he said “hypersensitivity” can harm camaraderie and productivity among employees.
“Smart women simply overlook some boorish behavior by men,” he wrote. “Off-color jokes and stupid remarks may be irritating, but a smart woman deals with this.”
Elder’s campaign did not respond to repeated requests for comment from The Chronicle on Thursday, though he released a statement challenging Newsom to a one-on-one debate.
His statements about “boorish behavior” appeared in a section under the heading “Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Doesn’t Hold Women Back.” Elder also wrote that while “many men are pigs,” a woman’s best defense against inappropriate behavior is to show “competence,” so that she is valuable to her employer.
The revelation comes amid a long national reckoning on sexual harassment and abuse, and as Elder’s views toward women draw growing scrutiny, emerging as a central issue in the tight recall contest.
Politico reported Thursday that Elder’s former fiancee and longtime radio producer, political activist Alexandra Datig, said he waved a gun at her during a heated argument in 2015, while he was high on marijuana.
“My fear was great, and I understood I needed to de-escalate,” Datig told Politico, saying she locked herself in a downstairs bedroom and ended their engagement after the incident.
Elder denied the allegation in a series of tweets, saying he “never brandished a gun at anyone.” He said he would stay focused on the issues that led more than 1.7 million California voters to petition for a recall.
“People do not get into public life precisely because of this type of politics of personal destruction,” Elder wrote. “I am not going to dignify this with a response — it’s beneath me.”
A day before the Politico story was published, Datig — formerly the producer of “The Larry Elder Show,” his nationally syndicated show out of Los Angeles — posted a video on Twitter demanding that Elder release her from a nondisclosure agreement she signed, so she can share concerns about him.
“I’m very concerned voters of California are not being presented with all of the facts about Larry Elder … voters have a right to know the truth about who they’re electing,” Datig said in her video.
Efforts by The Chronicle to interview Datig were not immediately successful.
Elder’s views on sexual harassment in the workplace have not been previously reported, though Huffpost.com reported last week that Elder called sexual assault allegations against former President Donald Trump “child’s play” during a Fox News interview in 2017.
There’s no indication that Elder has reconsidered his views on sexual harassment since the publication of his 2000 book, which he wrote almost two decades before the #MeToo movement targeted sexual harassment and assault. The book can still be purchased through Elder’s website and online retailers.
In his book, Elder said a woman who feels aggrieved should take her concerns to managers at her workplace. But he advised “smart women” to refrain from reporting some level of inappropriate language or behavior.
Elder wrote that a “smart woman” offended by a colleague “makes it clear to the speaker that she finds the remark unfunny and inappropriate.” He added, “But hypersensitivity creates an atmosphere where everybody walks on eggshells, no one knows what to say to each other, and camaraderie and productivity suffer.”
Laura Kray, an expert on the role of gender in the workplace and faculty director of the Center for Equity, Gender and Leadership at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, called Elder’s views “incredibly outdated.”
“In a nutshell, it’s frightening,” Kray said. “I don’t see this as progress in any way. It almost seems like it has to be a joke, although, sadly, I know it’s not.”
Kray said a workplace that allows some inappropriate behavior to be overlooked creates a culture of “victim blaming,” an environment where women feel pressured to play along with unwanted comments or behavior and fear retaliation if they speak out.
“If that is widespread and prevalent in an organization, then they are vulnerable to lawsuits about the work environment,” she said. “A reasonable woman in that environment would find it to be hostile.”
Elder’s comments about women have been condemned by a few of his Republican opponents in the race, the most vocal being former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer.
During a debate in Sacramento on Tuesday, Faulconer denounced Elder for what he portrayed as misogynistic claims. He cited a passage from Elder’s 2002 book, “Showdown: Confronting Bias, Lies, and the Special Interests that Divide America,” in which Elder defended hiring discrimination against pregnant women.
Elder wasn’t present at the debate. In the book, he wrote that employers making hiring decisions should be able to ask women if they intend to have children because it could raise costs for the business.
“Are there legitimate business reasons for a venture capitalist to ask a female entrepreneur whether and when she intends to have children? Hell, yes,” Elder wrote.
Faulconer called Elder’s stance “bulls—” and challenged other Republicans on the ballot to similarly denounce his views. He also cited a 2000 column in which Elder stated that Democrats easily manipulate women because “women know less than men about political issues, economics and current events.”
“That’s not who we are as Californians,” Faulconer said on the debate stage. “As governor, I’m going to make sure that California daughters have the same opportunities as California sons.”
Caitlyn Jenner, the former reality TV star and another Republican in the race, took to Twitter to slam Elder on Thursday. She said his view on pregnancy discrimination “is outrageous and speaks volumes about the type of person he is.”
During an online news conference on Wednesday, Elder stood by his remarks about pregnancy and hiring decisions, though he noted that numerous federal and state laws prohibit such discrimination.
“I believe that government should not be intruding into the relationship between an employer and an employee,” he said. “I know there are all sorts of laws and rules and regulations that prevent that. But I wonder whether or not it’s wise for government to be interfering like this.”
Dustin Gardiner is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @dustingardiner
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