BrewDog CEO claims he is subject of ‘criminal shakedown’ amid allegations

In an interview given to Josh Glancy for The Sunday Times Magazine, BrewDog co-founder and CEO James Watt defended himself against allegations of bullying, harassment and hypocrisy raised in the last year.

Watt was the subject of an hour long BBC documentary The Truth About BrewDog, which interviewed members of the Punks With Purpose group who claimed that Watt presided over a toxic workplace culture and accused him of improper conduct with female members of staff at BrewDog pubs in the US. The fallout from the documentary has been significant, and Watt is preparing a legal case against the BBC which he accuses of “defamation”.

In the interview, Watt described the previous year as “nothing short of hell”. He reiterated his belief that he had been “subject to a two-year criminal shakedown. A campaign of harassment, malicious communication and blackmail.” Watt claims that there are “people working together behind the scenes to attack me with criminal means.”

When asked about whether he had ever had a romantic encounter with an employee, Watt initially said “no” before admitting a few days later that he once had a “brief, amicable relationship with a team member” during a rough time in his marriage. He is now divorced.

In relation to his alleged £500,000 investment in Heineken, he clarified that it was actually £120,000 but conceded that the decision was “one of the most stupid f***ing things” he had done.

The interviewing also cast light on Watt’s upbringing. Born into a wealthy family, he describes how his parents refusal to give him praise gave him an “inadequacy complex”. He also acknowledged that though his leadership style could be “too intense”, and his interpersonal skills marred by an inability to pick up “social cues”, he stands by his determination to grow BrewDog at all costs. Citing time spent working on North Sea trawlers, he informed Glancy that those critical of his intensity would understand if they spent “a week in a fishing boat under some of the captains I’ve sailed with.”

The self-styled “Captain of BrewDog” remains a figure of great controversy in the craft beer world. Though he has an international fanbase, which has enabled the brand’s global expansion (27 new venues are set to open this year), he has attracted fierce criticism. Despite batting away allegations with statements shared to social media, the matter of whether Watt was the victim of a conspiracy is heading to criminal courts in England and his native Scotland.

db has reached out to Punks With Purpose for a response.