Sexual Misconduct
Latest News and Opinion-
Posted Tuesday 8/21/18 at 1:32PM EDT
Asia Argento strongly denies she had sex with underage boy, says Anthony Bourdain helped pay off accuser
Argento said former child actor Jimmy Bennett tried to extort her, in responding to The New York Times article reporting that she paid him off with $380,000 over his underage sex accusation. "I am deeply shocked and hurt having read the news that is absolutely false," she said in a statement sent to journalist Yashar Ali. "I have never had any sexual relationship with Bennett." She added: "Bennett knew my boyfriend, Anthony Bourdain, was a man of great perceived wealth and had his own reputation as a beloved public figure to protect. (Bourdain) insisted the matter be handled privately and this was also what Bennett wanted. Anthony was afraid of the possible negative publicity that such person, whom he considered dangerous, could have brought upon us."
# TOPICS: Asia Argento, Anthony Bourdain, Sexual Misconduct
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Posted Monday 8/20/18 at 10:18PM EDT
New York state Attorney General is investigating Mario Batali's alleged sexual harassment at his friend's restaurant
Three months after the NYPD said it was investigating the celebrity chef, the New York Attorney General's office issued a subpoena in its investigation of allegations of sexual harassment and workplace discrimination at the Spotted Pig, where Batali allegedly assaulted a woman in a so-called "rape room." The New York Times reports the subpoena "seeks video footage of Mr. Batali with female employees in the restaurant’s third-floor party room, as well as records of complaints related to sex harassment or discrimination based on employees’ gender or pregnancy."
# TOPICS: Mario Batali, Sexual Misconduct
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Posted Monday 8/20/18 at 2:41PM EDT
Asia Argento will be cut from X Factor Italy if New York Times story saying she paid off an underage sexual assault accuser is "confirmed"
The Times reported on Sunday that the Italian actress, a leader in the #MeToo movement, "quietly arranged" a $380,000 settlement with accuser Jimmy Bennett, a young actor and rock musician who was 17 when she allegedly sexually assaulted him. The report comes weeks before Argento's debut on X Factor Italy, which is set for Sept. 6. Network Sky Italia and producer FreemantleMedia Italia released a statement responding to The Times, saying "if the allegations reported by the New York Times today were to be confirmed ... we would have no choice but to take note of it and put an end to the collaboration with Asia Argento."
# TOPICS: Asia Argento, Sky Italia, The X Factor Italy, Sexual Misconduct
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Posted Friday 8/17/18 at 6:27PM EDT
Charlie Rose accused of dodging sexual harassment lawsuit
Rose was spotted having dinner with his former PBS show executive producer, Yvette Vega, on the day The New Yorker dropped its Ronan Farrow bombshell on Les Moonves' sexual harassment scandal, which also tackled the culture at CBS News and Rose's behavior. Rose's dinner came 10 days after he reportedly had abdominal surgery, which he used as an excuse to postpone his response to a sexual harassment lawsuit brought on by three former staffers. The attorney for the plaintiffs brought up Rose's dinner to suggest he his medical situation isn't that serious. Rose's attorney responded: "He needs to eat."
# TOPICS: Charlie Rose, Legal, Sexual Misconduct
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Posted Thursday 8/16/18 at 4:38PM EDT
E! cancels The Royals after four seasons, eight months after creator and showrunner Mark Schwahn was fired after sexual harassment investigation
"E! will not be moving forward with another season of The Royals, which launched in 2015 as the network’s first original scripted series,” E! said in a statement. According to Deadline, Lionsgate TV has been in talks with sister cable network Pop for a possible fifth season pickup. The Royals creator Mark Schwahn was fired last December after accusations of sexual harassment from the cast and crew of One Tree Hill, which he also created.
# TOPICS: The Royals, E!, Mark Schwahn, Sexual Misconduct
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Posted Wednesday 8/15/18 at 2:13PM EDT
Late Night's Amber Ruffin remakes House of Cards and The Cosby Show to omit their disgraced stars
Watch her take on Kevin Spacey's Frank Underwood and Cosby's Cliff Huxtable, as well as Woody Allen's character in Annie Hall.
# TOPICS: Amber Ruffin, NBC, The Cosby Show, House of Cards, Late Night with Seth Meyers, Bill Cosby, Kevin Spacey, Woody Allen, Late Night, Sexual Misconduct
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Posted Tuesday 8/14/18 at 1:57PM EDT
The Bachelorette's Leo Dottavio says he's planning to sue The Bachelor's Bekah Martinez over sexual harassment allegations
“I took a leave because I didn’t want bad press coming to my public place of work,” says Dottavio, who works at Universal Studios' Water World show. “I am still employed and as far as I know there are no allegations against me. I have never been accused of any sort of sexual harassment at work or anywhere else.”
# TOPICS: Leo Dottavio, ABC, The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Bekah Martinez, Legal, Reality TV, Sexual Misconduct
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Posted Monday 8/13/18 at 8:43AM EDT
Chris Hardwick makes teary return to Talking Dead following sexual misconduct allegations
“I really just want to take a minute and I want to say that I’m so appreciative to be standing here right now, and I want to thank you, The Walking Dead community, for all your support over these past couple months," an emotional Hardwick said in his first Talking Dead episode since ex-girlfriend Chloe Dykstra accused him of emotional and sexual abuse. "This show is not just a job to me, this is a vital part of my life, this has been a sanctuary these last seven years we’ve been here." Hardwick also said "I have so much gratitude to you the fans, the producers, and the casts of these amazing shows for allowing me to be a part of this community every week." Hardwick didn't mention that one of the producers, co-executive producer Jen Patton, and other Talking Dead staffers quit in protest over his reinstatement. “They felt they couldn’t stay after Chloe was not part of the investigation,” an insider told Deadline. AMC had no comment on the departures.
# TOPICS: Chris Hardwick, AMC, Talking Dead, Chloe Dykstra, Jen Patton, Sexual Misconduct
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Posted Saturday 8/11/18 at 4:53AM EDT
Chris Hardwick's Talking Dead return leads to the departure of a female executive producer and several staffers
The Wrap reports that the unnamed "female executive producer and a 'handful' of the approximately 25 people who work on the talk show show left after Hardwick was reinstated last month." AMC declined to comment on the departures. Meanwhile, on Friday, Hardwick accuser and ex-girlfriend Chloe Dykstra tweeted that she stood by her allegations and explained why she didn't participate in the network investigation: "Hey dudes. Just a reminder: I 100% stand by every single word of my essay. I made sure it was unembellished, factual, and that I had evidence to back it up in order to protect myself in case of ACTUAL litigation (not a network investigation, where I’m not protected). That is all." ALSO: Nerdist restores Hardwick's name following an internal investigation.
# TOPICS: Chris Hardwick, AMC, Talking Dead, Chloe Dykstra, Nerdist, Sexual Misconduct
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Posted Saturday 8/11/18 at 4:53AM EDT
60 Minutes boss Jeff Fager is back at work, reports CBS News
Executive producer Fager returned to work on Friday, five days after CBS said he would extend his vacation amid a probe into CBS News and Les Moonves for alleged misconduct. CBS News reports, based on "multiple sources," that Fager addressed his staff and said he's back at work.
# TOPICS: 60 Minutes, CBS, Jeff Fager, CBS News, Sexual Misconduct
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Posted Saturday 8/11/18 at 4:53AM EDT
Former Girls writer Murray Miller won't face charges after being accused of sexually assaulting actress Aurora Perrineau
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said that they aren't going to charge Miller "based on the evidence presented, which included victim, suspect, and witness statements, there are inconsistencies which cannot be overcome." Prosecutors also pointed out that Perrineau, the daughter of actor Harold Perrineau, reported the alleged incident outside of the three-year statute of limitations.
# TOPICS: Murray Miller, Girls, Aurora Perrineau, Harold Perrineau, Sexual Misconduct
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Posted Friday 8/10/18 at 6:01AM EDT
D.A. reviewing sexual assault allegation against Anthony Anderson
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's office is reviewing a sexual assault allegation against the Black-ish star that the LAPD submitted on Wednesday. Last month, The Blast revealed that a woman came forward earlier this year accusing him of sexual assault last year at an event she catered for him. Anderson's rep denies the accusation.
# TOPICS: Anthony Anderson, Black-ish, Sexual Misconduct
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Posted Wednesday 8/08/18 at 3:28PM EDT
Brooklyn Nine-Nine is interested in doing a #MeToo episode
Co-creator Dan Goor was joined by Terry Crews at the TV press tour today, discussing the potential of a #MeToo episode. “They are really hard to do, but we’re happy with the way they turn out," Goor said of the show's reputation for doing issue-oriented episodes. “The challenge is to stay true to the show and feel funny, but give a weight to the issue and explore it in a fair way. I can’t promise, but we’re really interested in trying to do a #MeToo story." Andy Samberg added: “We are not going to do unless we have the right take that does it justice." Crews also discussed going public with his sexual assault allegation, saying "I like to call it the Summer of Freedom."
ALSO:
# TOPICS: Brooklyn Nine-Nine, NBC, Andy Samberg, Dan Goor, Terry Crews, Sexual Misconduct
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Posted Tuesday 8/07/18 at 10:55PM EDT
Transparent's Trace Lysette: Jeffrey Tambor took a softer hit from the #MeToo movement because his accusers were transgender women
Lysette, the second transgender woman who worked on Transparent to accuse Tambor of sexual harassment, said in a Variety roundtable: “I’m used to people not wanting to believe us and being at the bottom of the totem pole, as you said — being considered overly sexual beings, objectified — I would say, more so than even cis women. Our word doesn’t carry weight the same way, which is why it took him shouting down Jessica Walter to be canceled. That was what it took. Never mind the fact that these things occurred on set with me and others. It was about the incident in that New York Times interview with Arrested Development."
# TOPICS: Transparent, Amazon, Jeffrey Tambor, Trace Lysette, LGBTQ, Sexual Misconduct
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Posted Tuesday 8/07/18 at 2:27PM EDT
At CBS, there is "growing unease" over Les Moonves' fate
"For the most part, the shock has worn off. But a black cloud still hangs heavy over CBS," reports Cynthia Littleton. She adds that "there is growing unease that a regime change at the Moonves level could lead to a housecleaning in the upper executive ranks. CBS’ Big Four rivals have all faced a revolving door of management, but not CBS. Since he took the reins as CBS Entertainment president in July 1995, Moonves has been the consistent presence that galvanized the daily work of the mothership network and its offshoots: Showtime, CBS Television Studios, Simon & Schuster and CBS Television Stations. CBS has about 20,000 employees concentrated mostly in New York and Los Angeles and at its 28 owned-and-operated TV stations across the country."
# TOPICS: Les Moonves, CBS, Sexual Misconduct
