Amazon Studios chief Roy Price resigns amid sexual harassment claims
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Your support makes all the difference.The head of Amazon Studios, Roy Price, has resigned amid an accusation of sexual harassment by one of the company's producers.
Earlier this month Asa Hackett, a producer on the hit Amazon show The Man in the High Castle, went public with allegations that Mr Price had made sexually inappropriate remarks. Ms Hackett is the daughter of science fiction legend Philip K Dick, who wrote the book on which the show is based.
In the wake of the allegation Amazon suspended Mr Price, putting him on a leave of absence "effective immediately". The executive has now stepped down, a company spokesperson confirmed.
Albert Cheng, who took charge last week when Mr Price was placed on a leave of absence, will continue as the interim head of the studio, Amazon said.
Mr Price has not yet responded to requests for comment.
Amazon have also sent a memo to employees saying the company “does not tolerate harassment or abuse of our employees or our business partners”, according to BuzzFeed, which obtained a copy.
It was the second time this month that a powerful entertainment executive was felled by accusations of sexually inappropriate behaviour. The powerful Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was forced from his company after dozens of women came forward to accuse him of harassment or assault. Mr Weinstein denies any sexual acts were non-consensual and his legal team have called other allegations "false".
The memo to Amazon employees reportedly mentioned Mr Weinstein, saying “The news coming out of Hollywood over the past week has been shocking and disturbing — and unfortunately we are a part of it”. The memo said the company would review two projects it was working on with Mr Weinstein's production house The Weinstein Company - with Amazon opting to scrap a high-profile David O Russell series which was set to star Robert De Niro and Julianne Moore.
Amazon has been working in recent years to bolster its original streaming content, adding a stable of shows that include both The Man in the High Castle and the critically beloved Transparent.
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