Michael Corn, a longtime former executive producer at ABC News, is charged with sexual assault and creating a toxic work environment in a complaint filed Wednesday by a woman who worked for him as a producer.
New York State Court lawsuit by “Good Morning America” producer Kirstyn Crawford also claims ABC did not investigate the allegations when they came to the attention of the company for the first time in 2017. ABC, a unit of Walt Disney Co., is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Crawford, 31, alleges that Corn assaulted her when she reported her to “GMA” in 2015. The two were covering the Oscars in Los Angeles when Corn allegedly touched and forcibly kissed Crawford on an Uber trip to their home. hotel after a party the night before the awards ceremony. During the alleged incident, Corn told Crawford he could help him in his career.
Corn, who was intoxicated at the time, according to the costume, allegedly touched and kissed Crawford again after bringing Advil to his hotel room at his request.
The lawsuit also describes two incidents in which Corn allegedly sexually assaulted Jill McClain, a producer who worked for him while overseeing ABC World News Tonight. McClain is not a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
Corn has denied the allegations. “I will exercise all available legal remedies against these women and defend myself vigorously,” he said in a statement.
Corn held the most senior production roles at “ABC World News Tonight” and “Good Morning America” during his tenure with the network. He left abruptly in April and is now president of NewsNation, the cable channel owned by Nexstar Media Group.
Crawford’s lawsuit says Corn was either fired or forced to resign after her allegations were investigated, which were officially reported to the company in February.
“We are committed to maintaining a safe and supportive work environment and have a process in place that thoroughly reviews and deals with complaints filed,” a representative from Walt Disney Co. said in a statement. “ABC News disputes the allegations made against it and will address this issue in court. ”
A representative for Nexstar said the company had no comment on the matter.
ABC News did not state the reason for Corn’s departure when he left the company. His friends speculated it was because he was fired from the post of chairman of ABC News, which went to Kim Godwin, formerly of CBS.
Corn’s attorney, Elizabeth Locke, provided email correspondence her client had with Crawford on the 2015 business trip to show her claims were ‘patently false’.
“Hours after the alleged incident, Mrs Crawford offered to bring me coffee and breakfast to my hotel room and asked for my hotel room number because she didn’t know. not – the same room where she now claims this incident happened, ”Corn said in a statement. “On the same day, she offered to share a car with her on several occasions. And the same day, she emailed me, after I helped her solve a work problem, “why are you so great? These are not the words and actions of a woman who had been assaulted hours before. “
The costume also describes how McClain was traveling on a plane with Corn in September 2010 when he allegedly began massaging her hand and arm. McClain says she asked him what he was doing and without answering Corn then proceeded to rub his upper right thigh with his left hand, the costume says. He then allegedly slipped his hand over her genital area, rubbing it through his jeans.
A second incident occurred in April 2011, according to the lawsuit, when the “ABC World News Tonight” team traveled to London to cover the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. After having a drink with a group including presenter Diane Sawyer, Corn allegedly followed McClain to his hotel room, pushed his way through and kissed her by force.
Corn also said that after the alleged incidents described by McClain, she repeatedly booked their plane trip and continued to sit next to him. Corn said he was also invited to his wedding and a pre-wedding event limited to immediate friends and family.
“She told me and my wife over and over again that she missed me after leaving her job at ABC,” said Corn.
McClain said in the lawsuit she was so traumatized by the incidents with Corn that her career on ABC News was derailed. She said she has had difficulty keeping a job ever since.
The lawsuit also alleges that ABC News executives did not respond to complaints about Corn when they were first brought to their attention in 2017 due to his success as a producer.
Good Morning America co-host George Stephanopoulos learned of Crawford’s issues with Corn in late 2017 and reported it to Tanya Menton, an ABC lawyer. Stephanapoulos then urged Crawford to contact Menton and tell him about the assault.
Crawford also discussed the matter with Heather Riley, communications manager in charge of “Good Morning America”. According to the lawsuit, Riley told Crawford to “do what she thought was right,” but warned that reporting the assault and harassment could become “messy”.
“Fearing retaliation from Corn and fearing that filing a formal complaint would do more harm than good or even lose his job, Crawford never called Menton,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit said ABC policy requires the company to investigate allegations of misconduct. But nothing happened in 2017 after Menton, Riley and Derek Medina, a former “GMA” producer who is now executive vice president of ABC News, learned of Crawford’s allegations.
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