The head of Amazon Studios has been put on leave following sexual harassment allegations from a producer on the Amazon series "Man in the High Castle," adding to Hollywood's high-ranking misconduct crisis.
ADVERTISEMENTThe head of Amazon Studios has been put on leave following sexual harassment allegations from a producer on the Amazon series “Man in the High Castle,” adding to Hollywood’s high-ranking misconduct crisis.
Studio executive Roy Price is on a leave of absence effective immediately, Amazon said in a statement on Thursday.
The company also said it’s reviewing its options for projects it has with The Weinstein Co., the embattled firm that fired co-founder Harvey Weinstein on Sunday over allegations of sexual misconduct and assault.
Amazon is developing two series with The Weinstein Co., “The Romanoffs” from “Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner and an untitled drama from filmmaker David O. Russell and starring Robert De Niro and Julianne Moore.
Dozens of women, including actresses Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow, have gone public with accusations against Weinstein after a report by The New York Times on misconduct claims by others.
Christopher Tricarico, a lawyer for Hackett, said that the trade paper’s account of her allegations was accurate.
Hackett, a producer on Amazon’s “ High Castle” drama based on the work of her late father, author Philip K. Dick, alleged that Price propositioned her with crudely suggestive language after a 2015 Comic-Con event in San Diego.
Hackett doesn’t intend to pursue legal action against Amazon or Price, Tricarico said in an email on Thursday. She declined further comment.
Also on Thursday Hollywood actress Rose McGowan claimed in a tweet that “HW raped me,” apparently referring to Harvey Weinstein.
Weinstein representative Sallie Hofmeister has said Weinstein “unequivocally denies any allegations of non-consensual contact.’‘
Rose McGowan emerges from Twitter suspension with frank accusation: “HW raped me.” https://t.co/nEMxHdggJW‘
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 12, 2017
In a series of tweets on Thursday, McGowan addressed Amazon chief Jeff Bezos and says that she repeatedly told an Amazon Studios executive that “HW raped me.”
McGowan said the executive told her it wasn’t proven and she said “I am the proof.”
McGowan last year said that she had been raped by a “studio head.” The New Yorker expose that ran Tuesday reported that Weinstein had allegedly sexually assaulted three women. The New York Times earlier reported that Weinstein paid a financial settlement to McGowan in 1997.
Representatives for Amazon did not immediately comment.