Amazon suspends programming chief after sexual harassment claim

Amazon Studios programming chief Roy Price has been placed on a leave of absence after a producer from one of Amazon’s original series accused him of sexual harassment.

Isa Hackett, a producer on Amazon original “The Man in the High Castle” and daughter of author Philip K. Dick, who wrote the book on which the show is based, accused Price of repeatedly harassing her during a round of promotional events for the show in 2015.

Hackett told The Hollywood Reporter that Price harassed her in a cab in which Michael Paull, former Amazon Channels head who is now CEO of Disney’s BAMTech division, was also present. Price reportedly continued to harass her at an Amazon party.

“We expect people to set high standards for themselves; we encourage people to raise any concerns and we make it a priority to investigate and address them. Accordingly, we looked closely at this specific concern and addressed it directly with those involved,” an Amazon spokesperson told the publication before confirming that Price had been placed on leave of absence.

Hackett going public with her accusation comes amid the firestorm around Harvey Weinstein, who was ousted from his own company amid numerous accusations of sexual misconduct and actress Rose McGowan’s accusation that Weinstein raped her.

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Hackett told the publication she was inspired to come forward by the many women who’ve gone public with accusations against Weinstein.

The allegations against Price were originally reported on in August by The Information. As The New York Times points out, Hackett provided a statement for that article saying that she did not wish to discuss the details of the troubling incident.

Albert Cheng, who serves as chief operations officer for Amazon Studios, will assume Price’s duties in the interim.