STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

What a creep.  Personally I think his behavior is totally inappropriate and that he is taking advantage of you...not the other way around.  I say distance yourself from this guy ASAP because he could end up hurting you professionally.  Not that they should, but if people in your office suspect that you two have a relationship (even though you don't), it could cause a lot of problems for you.  You are young and have a great career ahead of you, without the help of any lecherous older men. 

ok, gonna be blunt for a sec (please forgive me)--i think he's trying to get in your pants and i think his offers to help you professionally are a load of crap.  i would steer clear, big time.  just be busy whenever he comes calling.  and if you somehow get wrangled into having to spend time w/ him, bring a friend.  seriously, this guy sounds like bad news.  and the sad thing is there's a lot of guys like him, esp. in the entertainment industry, so take this as a lesson learned and watch your back.  be careful and know we're here for you.

I'm gonna have to agree with esquiress on this one. and that really sucks and is unfair because you should be able to have professional mentors without having to worry about whether they're trying to get into your pants.

but this guy is trouble. and don't let him try to fool you into thinking you need him to get ahead. it's tempting to think you can continue to have a close working relationship and still keep him at bay, but my sense is that being around this guy will bring you trouble in the long run. just remember you are talented, smart and competent, and you don't need this sleazebag to do well. see if you can scope out other prospective mentors. be a little pushy if you have to, because like you said, many people might be inclined to blow you off at first.

Oh this is a difficult scenario. First of all - yes, clearly this man is trying to get into your pants. I have to throw in a little note of caution, though, in regards to going to superiors. How powerful is this guy? How much influence does he have? I would be *very* careful about making accusations against higher-ups without proof (even in a case like this where it obviously did happen - you cannot prove it). In all likelihood, everyone is aware of his intern penchant (in fact I hear an intern penchant, among senior male staff, is pretty much de rigeur) but keep the politics in mind - do you want to get a permanent job at this place?

OK, I just found the article (I read this when it was first published - it's fascinating) your post reminded me of. It's here: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0ICQ/is_2004_Oct_25/ai_n6253964

And here's a quote from it:

"But they suggested the same principle that many women interviewed by The Observer have asserted since Ms. Mackris' vivid charges against Mr. O'Reilly have been reported: TV news is a generally inhospitable place for women to work. It often involves unequal pay for comparable work. It nurtures and inspires sexual harassment in a pressured, heightened environment filled with risks and rewards, highs and lows, and often staffed by malleable younger women producers and assistants assigned to the care and feeding of outsized male egos.

Few women under the age of 40 were willing to speak on the record for this piece about their harassment experiences, or even the sexist culture of TV news in general. But this was a shockingly easy story to gather anecdotal material for, on background.

"The television industry in general is rampant with sexual harassment, and it's very difficult for women at a low level to complain or do anything about it," said Lisa Bloom, a Court TV anchor and sexual-harassment attorney. "As you can see with what's happened to Andrea Mackris, it's brutal. That's why they don't come forward. They put up with it, they change jobs, engage in avoidance. It's a small industry in New York, especially in cable news, and we all know each other. You move around a lot, and your reputation follows you. And if you offend the top brass at one TV network, they're very tight with top brass at other networks. Word will spread, and you'll have a hard time getting a job."

Thanks so much for the advice, girls! (Mia - I haven't read the article yet but I'm definitely going to check it out.)

I agree with you all - there's no good way to use his professional connections while fending off his more-than-friendly advances, and I'll be perfectly fine without them. Last week, we made plans to get together and make an audition tape for me sometime in January - after today, I'm so not going to let that happen. (If he blatantly comes on to me in a restaurant and at the office, can you IMAGINE what he would do if we were alone for a long period of time??) I talked this over with some of my girlfriends as well, and have come to the conclusion that the best thing for me to do is maintain a civil email relationship with him, if anything, and avoid any attempts on his part to get together. Luckily, we don't run into each other much around the office and I'm busy enough with work that I can always use that as an excuse for not doing anything. He'll be on vacation for the next 2 weeks and by the time he gets back, I'll only have a few weeks left of my internship.

As for reporting him to HR or my internship supervisor - in theory, I'd love to let higher ups know. But as some of you pointed out, and as I've seen in my media experience, sexual harassment of this kind is pretty much accepted, and he's important enough that it would be damaging only to me if I complained about this. Plus, he's friends with the woman who's in charge of hiring full time people, and it wouldn't be wise to tarnish the image she has of me.

Ugh. I know he's a creep, but I can't help feeling a little bad about this. I really thought I had found a mentor in A.; now I think he's one of the sketchiest guys I've ever met. Whatever - I'm so glad I figured out this situation sooner rather than later - and that one of my co-workers was considerate enough to alert me to this guy's reputation.

And just to let you know what he might have wanted - he said that his mindblowing, primal sex was with a CO-WORKER and that they often had sex at WORK. And that the girl was in a relationship but it was fine because they did their thing and no one got hurt. GROSS.