ABC is facing a number of sexual assault allegations that involve some of its newscasters. Michael Corn, a producer for “GMA,” has been accused of assaulting producer Kirstyn Crawford during an Uber ride in 2010 and then repeatedly groping and trying to have sex with her in a hotel room in 2011.
A second former ABC staffer, Jill McClain, corroborated Crawford’s claims, stating that Corn repeatedly groped her and pinned her in his hotel room. Michael Corn’s lawyers have denied the allegations.
Michael Corn
An ABC News producer is under fire for alleged sexual misconduct. The company, which is owned by Disney, has received complaints about Corn dating back nearly a decade. Despite knowing about these allegations, the company has failed to take action against the producer. The company is now under investigation following the allegations filed by former “Good Morning America” producer Christine Crawford.
Crawford, a producer for ABC’s “GMA” show, has filed a lawsuit against Corn in New York state court. She alleges that Corn assaulted her and created a hostile working environment. The incident happened in 2010, during a red-eye flight. She claims that Corn groped her and rubbed her vagina through her jeans. Her allegations were corroborated by a former ABC employee, Jill McClain. McClain claims that Corn attacked her and groped her in 2010, while pinning her and groping her. The ABC executives have denied the claims, and Corn is fighting the allegations through his lawyer.
Kim Godwin, the new president of ABC News, suggested that an independent investigation be launched into the sexual assault claims. However, the statement was met with resistance from Disney executives, and in September, the Wall Street Journal reported that the company had no plans to pursue an independent investigation into Corn.
Kirstyn Crawford
In a recent lawsuit, Kirstyn Crawford accused ABC of knowing about her alleged sexual assault and doing nothing. According to Crawford, the company knew about her allegations in 2017, but failed to do anything to help her. Crawford filed her suit against ABC and alleged assaulter Michael Corn, the former executive producer of GMA. Although Corn denied the allegations, he has since abruptly left GMA and is working for Nexstar’s NewsNation.
Crawford alleges that she was sexually assaulted by former ABC News Senior Executive Producer Michael Corn in 2015, during an Uber ride and a hotel stay. She also alleges that Corn was a “toxic work environment,” and that ABC and Disney did not do enough to investigate the allegations against him. The ABC and Disney networks, which have not yet responded to Crawford’s suit, have reached out to Crawford to learn more about her story.
Corn was fired from ABC and was fired as the executive producer. She and Corn tried to settle their dispute through mediation, but failed. A new ABC president, Kim Godwin, called for an independent investigation after a series of unsuccessful discussions. But Disney executives were reportedly angry about Godwin’s calls for an investigation.
Kim Godwin
ABC News, whose president Kim Godwin was named in April, is facing several sexual assault allegations. According to the lawsuit, Godwin failed to protect the employee who reported the alleged sexual assault of a former executive. The company did not respond to a request for comment. ABC News is denying the allegations, but has not responded to a request for comment from TheWrap.
Godwin, who took on the role of president of ABC less than six months ago, has been calling for an independent investigation into the Michael Corn allegations. The request enraged Peter Rice, chairman of Disney’s general entertainment content. The allegations about Corn have now turned into a lawsuit against ABC.
The suit alleges that Corn sexually assaulted former staffer Jill McClain, an anchor and producer for ABC News. Godwin, who took over as president in April, said she didn’t know that there was a broken culture at the company until she heard the allegations. She also said she was shocked by the allegations against Corn. Godwin subsequently ordered an independent investigation into the accusations.
Mark Halperin
The political journalist Mark Halperin, who was once the political director at ABC News, has been dropped from several projects. He is no longer a contributor on NBC or MSNBC, and his HBO show “The Circus” has been canceled. He was also dropped from Showtime after two seasons. The sexual assault allegations against Halperin have also led to a drop in his book publishing business. After the allegations broke, five women came forward to report sexual misconduct against Halperin. Since then, more women have come forward, bringing the total to dozens.
Halperin apologized for his behavior and sought counseling for the misconduct. The former CNN producer also revealed that she was a student at Brandeis University when Halperin approached her for advice on the television business. After the allegations were made public, ABC News has distanced itself from Halperin. David Westin, the president of ABC News from 1997 to 2010, issued a statement saying there had been no sexual misconduct complaints against Halperin during his time at the network.
The women in Halperin’s allegations did not want their identities made public. Many of the women who made the allegations chose to remain anonymous, because they did not want their names associated with the sexual assault allegations.
