Amazon has suspended Roy Price, top entertainment executive, following sexual harassment allegations, reports Variety. Albert Cheng, COO of Amazon Studios, is now the interim head of the division.
An Amazon spokesperson told Variety, “Roy Price is on leave of absence effective immediately. We are reviewing our options for our projects we have with the Weinstein Company.”
Price’s departure has been speculated about for weeks, following concerns of possible sexual harassment and a shift in Amazon’s approach to original programming, reports Variety.
On Thursday, reports of an alleged harassment incident involving Isa Hackett, a top producer at Amazon, resurfaced. Hackett, 50, is the daughter of author Philip K. Dick. Hackett is the executive producer of The Man in the High Castle — which is based off Dick’s work — as well as an upcoming series, Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams.
According to Hackett, and reported by The Hollywood Reporter, she attended a dinner with the cast and staff of Man in the High Castle on July 10, 2015, after a day of promoting the show, and met Price for the first time. They ended up in a cab to a staff party with Price and Michael Paull, who at the time was another top Amazon executive (he is now CEO of BAMTech).
Hackett says that while in the cab, Price repeatedly propositioned her. He told her, “You will love my d-ck,” according to Hackett and reported by The Hollywood Reporter. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Hackett told at least two people about the alleged inicident in the immediate aftermath. Hackett says that she told Price she was not interested, and that she has a wife and children.
But according to The Hollywood Reporter, Price stepped up next to her at the party and loudly said “Anal sex!” in her ear while she was talking to other executives.
The Hollywood Reporter writes that Hackett reported the incident to Amazon executives immediately, who brought in an outside investigator. Hackett was never told the outcome of the report, but said she has not seen Price at any events involving her shows since.
Price declined to comment. Hackett told The Hollywood Reporter that she as previously reluctant to talk about the story, but when the sexual assault and sexual harassment allegations about Harvey Weinstein came out, she agreed to detail the encounter.
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