Testicle-Exhibiting Editor Also Liked to Take His Pants Off
Last week we published the disembodied testicle pictures that prompted Philadelphia magazine to fire editor Larry Platt. Consequently, Philly staffers dug up other Plattian treats—like these pictures of Platt dropping his pants. [Update: Platt's response below.]
During his 8-year reign as editor of Philadelphia, we're told Larry Platt regularly gamboled half-naked and displayed his anatomy, ostensibly to make people laugh. He would pose for photographs, and staffers would circulate the images. One former staffer dates the above trouser-dropping images to 2004; the topless desk shot at right to 2007. The consensus seems to be that Platt wasn't an aggressive pervert, just an attention junkie, "more David Brent than Brett Favre." In addition to tackling employees in the hall, Platt enjoyed squeezing male employee's nipples and offering his muscles for public viewing. Apparently the question "Do you want to see the guns?" came up a lot.
Did other staffers get naked with Larry? No, says one ex-staffer. But they laughed along, until that fateful day when a female staffer received a framed photo of Larry Platt's disembodied testicle, and Larry Platt was forthwith fired. But the Plattian laughter may start again, when Larry ascends to his new position as editor of the Philadelphia Daily News. PDN's publisher felt compelled to issue a statement about Larry Platt's troubled gift-giving: "I can assure you, and Larry has assured me, that actions of that kind will not occur at the Daily News." Dropping trou at meetings, on the other hand, is actually written into his contract and required.
Update: Larry Platt has responded to our request for comment. Here's what he says:
Here's my comment: You've got to be kidding me. These are absolutely untrue allegations by a former staffer or staffers with axes to grind. There was, years ago, photo-shopped photos of me done by a staffer as a joke, which everyone had a good laugh over. I've exhibited some poor judgment in the past, which I regret, and I've also learned how unwise it is to act like a friend among those who work for you. But this campaign of character assassination, aided and abetted by Gawker, is beyond the pale.
The staffer who provided the pictures stands by the images and story.
Previously:
The Disembodied Testicle Pictures That Got an Editor Fired
Ball Cyst Gift Gag Goes Awry