EXCLUSIVE: The principal at Andrew Lloyd Webber-supported drama school ArtsEd branded students “snakes” and appeared to threaten them with legal action after being accused of favoritism, according to a leaked recording.
Julie Spencer has been at the eye of a bullying storm after a Deadline investigation revealed concerns over student and staff safety at the prestigious London drama school, which counts Lloyd Webber as president and donor.
ArtsEd said it was “surprised and disappointed” by the audio obtained by Deadline (listen to an edited version below) and on Monday formally launched an independent inquiry into the misconduct allegations. Spencer has not commented. She is on medical leave and will not return to work while the investigation is ongoing.
The leaked recording reveals how Spencer scolded a group of students for more than 30 minutes during a class meeting in March 2021. Spencer’s attack came after she claimed that an employee at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama had alerted her to accusations of favoritism from ArtsEd students.
Spencer apologized to those who felt that she was showing favoritism, but repeatedly accused her own students of spreading lies and demanded that they show proof for the “nonsense” allegations.
Spencer branded her class “snakes” and said she had “the money to do it to you” in an apparent threat to pursue defamation claims against the students. Ex-students who were in the room told Deadline that the apparent legal threat came after they had raised concerns about allegedly inappropriate remarks made by British theatre director Michael Attenborough, who led an ArtsEd workshop in 2021. Attenborough declined to comment.
ArtsEd graduates claimed that the audio showed how Spencer could be openly hostile to the young people under her care. The recording emerged as Deadline can reveal:
- An ArtsEd board member partially upheld complaints from students against Spencer before she was promoted to principal without an open recruitment process
- Spencer’s former employer, St Mary’s University, examined complaints from students about her conduct
- In interviews, several St Mary’s graduates accused Spencer of making disparaging remarks about the weight of students
ArtsEd has engaged employment barrister Ghazaleh Rezaie to examine the culture of the drama school, which boasts famous alumni including Julie Andrews. ArtsEd employees, alumni, parents, and former St Mary’s students can contact Rezaie via an email address that is independent of the school: [email protected].
It is the second independent investigation at ArtsEd in as many years after attorney Rebecca Tuck found in 2021 that the institution demonstrated a “lack of regard” for the wellbeing of students, exposing them to favoritism, bullying, and other misconduct.
The school has put in place a temporary leadership structure in the absence of Spencer. Other senior employees have quit in recent weeks, including deputy principal Yewande Akindele and Justin Pierre, the head of acting. Akindele and Pierre did not respond to requests for comment.
More than 100 parents of ArtsEd students have expressed horror at allegations against the school and have been pushing for reform. Some parents met ArtsEd chair Brian Brodie late last month and they plan to continue holding the school’s board to account over the coming months.
Board Complaint Partially Upheld
People close to ArtsEd said there were red flags over Spencer’s conduct prior to her being permanently promoted to principal in April last year.
In June 2021, eight students attempted to give evidence to the Tuck inquiry about bullying and favoritism allegations. Instead, they were directed to board member Ruth Mundy, who investigated their claims. Mundy still serves as an ArtsEd trustee.
In August 2021, Mundy partially upheld the complaint. She acknowledged that the students experienced “genuine distress” and that there had been a “breakdown in trust and communication,” according to an email summarizing her conclusions.
Mundy ruled, however, that there was “insufficient robust evidence” to take disciplinary action against Spencer. Instead, the board member agreed an improvement action plan with Spencer, who was acting principal at the time. Spencer was later elevated to the role permanently without an open recruitment process.
Siphiwo Mahlentle, one of the ex-students who complained about Spencer, said the investigation had been “mismanaged” by Mundy. He told Deadline that she failed to account for similarities in concerns raised by students. He added that there was a lack of trust in the board’s willingness to hold Spencer to account.
Mahlentle was among the 20-30 people who witnessed the March 2021 class meeting in which Spencer was recorded lashing out at students. Those in the meeting recalled how Spencer paced the room pointing at students as she accused them of being “snakes.”
Spencer can be heard raising her voice in the audio, in which she claims that students are attempting to take her down. She reminds the young people that she is well-connected in the industry and has an “army” of supporters.
Five people who attended the meeting said the behavior was not unusual. They were bewildered at Spencer’s allegation that students were spreading rumors about ArtsEd to people at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.
Mahlentle explained: “All it takes is for Julie to make an outlandish claim and it is taken as bible. She didn’t provide any evidence to support her claims. It was a meeting to attack certain students, instill fear in the year, and maintain her power.”
The audio contradicts denials from Spencer provided to Deadline in October by an attorney acting on behalf of ArtsEd. In a letter from law firm Farrer & Co, Spencer claimed it was “utterly implausible” that she would ever call students “snakes” and threaten them with legal action.
Furthermore, Spencer said she did not recall the meeting and could not “locate details” of the gathering taking place. This was despite the audio showing that Spencer asked an ArtsEd administrator to take notes at the start of the meeting.
In a letter to parents of ArtsEd students on Monday, the school’s chair Brodie acknowledged the discrepancy. “We understand that some of what we previously told the media relied on accounts in respect of which apparently contradictory evidence has now been provided. This is something that we are taking incredibly seriously,” he said.
In a statement to Deadline, ArtsEd said: “We are surprised and disappointed by these new revelations and will be investigating as a matter of urgency. We cannot express strongly enough the potential repercussions and consequences for anybody that is found to have breached our clear policies around conduct and welfare. There is no place at ArtsEd for bullying of any kind.
“In response to the concerns first reported by Deadline, and new evidence that has since come to light, the board of trustees has instructed Ghazaleh Rezaie, a barrister from 12 Kings Bench Walk Chambers, to independently investigate these matters. Ghazaleh is an experienced employment law barrister. We plan for work on the investigation to commence immediately with interviews and evidence gathering in January 2024. The terms of reference will be agreed and published before then.
“While it is up to the independent investigator to agree and finalise the terms of reference, we are keen that this investigation is as broad and inclusive as possible, and that people have the opportunity to make their voice heard. We are determined to establish a clear account of the events and identify lessons to be learned based on the findings.
“We would like to thank Deadline for bringing these matters to our attention and are confident that this investigation will go a long way to understanding what lessons can be learned.”
St Mary’s Allegations
Since Deadline’s initial investigation last month, more than 50 people shared their experiences of working with or being taught by Spencer. This included more than 20 graduates from St Mary’s University, where she worked between 2014 and 2019.
The former students alleged similar patterns of behavior, describing Spencer as being an erratic leader, capable of bullying and favoritism. “Julie was exceptionally talented, both in her craft and in masking her abuse of power. One day she would be a joy, taking us young aspiring actors under her wing, and the next she would be vindictive and cruel,” said a 2019 graduate.
St Mary’s said it was unable to comment on historical allegations against former members of staff. The university said it provides an “inclusive and welcoming” environment for students and has robust complaints procedures. Spencer had no comment.
At least seven former students alleged that Spencer made disparaging remarks about the weight of some of those she taught.
Lauren O’Mahony, a 2018 St Mary’s graduate, alleged that Spencer told her that she would “struggle to be an actress with your weight.” Classmate Kirby Carter recalled Spencer telling O’Mahony that there were no successful “fat actresses.” A 2019 graduate alleged she made a similar comment to them.
Graduates from the class of 2017 recalled an incident during rehearsals for A Midsummer Night’s Dream in March 2016. Four ex-students claimed that Spencer referred to the Mechanicals as the “Weight Watchers” group after three overweight students were selected for the roles.
At least one person voiced their concerns to St Mary’s at the time. Spencer justified the remark on artistic grounds, saying a Weight Watchers club was a reason for the Mechanicals to meet up within the A Midsummer Night’s Dream production.
One ex-student described Spencer’s justification in a text to her mother in March 2016. The student wrote: “She [Spencer] went ‘Oh no, I wasn’t making fun of them, I said that Weight Watchers was the reason for them to be meeting up in the first place.’”
O’Mahony said she and more than 20 other students made complaints about Spencer to the university’s head of drama in the 2016/17 academic year, but she was not aware of any action being taken.
Graduates from the 2019 cohort said their grievances were escalated to John Charmley, St Mary’s University’s pro-vice-chancellor. According to minutes from a meeting, Charmley told students that complaints against Spencer were examined and “disciplinary actions” would have gone further had Spencer not left.
Spencer joined ArtsEd in 2019 as director of the school of acting. Deadline understands that St Mary’s did not disclose any concerns about Spencer’s conduct when ArtsEd took a reference from the university.
O’Mahony said she was treated for depression as a result of her experience with Spencer. Others said their time at university contributed to them requiring therapy.
A 2017 graduate recalled how, seven years on from leaving St Mary’s, she still talks to her therapist about the impact Spencer had on her life. “I started therapy with the university. I nearly dropped out, I was having suicidal thoughts,” this person said.
O’Mahony spoke for multiple graduates when she said her university experience crushed her love of acting. “My dream was to leave uni and become a drama teacher and do amateur dramatics on the side as a passion. I can’t think of anything worse than standing in front of people right now,” she said.
Carter, the 2018 graduate, added that she decided against pursuing an acting career partly because of her experience with Spencer. “It’s like being in a toxic relationship. When it’s good, it’s amazing. It’s like shooting stars and magic. And then when it’s bad, it’s horrible and dehumanizing,” she said.
As well as concerns over intimidating and erratic behavior, three graduates recalled how, during acting exercises, Spencer would make allegedly inappropriate comments about her personal life, such as discussing intimate relations with her husband.
St Mary’s said in a statement: “The university is unable to comment on historic allegations relating to former members of staff. St Mary’s works to provide an inclusive and welcoming learning environment for all students. The university has a comprehensive complaints procedure in place that students are able to access should they want to report concerns about staff for formal investigation.”
Lloyd Webber has not commented on the ArtsEd allegations. There is no suggestion that he was aware of the complaints before Deadline’s investigation.
