Top entertainment executive Roy Price has been suspended from Amazon Studios following a Hollywood Reporter article that revealed allegations against Price for sexually harassing Isa Hackett, a producer on The Man in the High Castle. Price as head of Amazon Studios presided over projects like Transparent and Manchester by the Sea.
Exclusive: Amazon TV producer goes public with harassment claim against top exec Roy Price https://t.co/bXOlK7SrgTpic.twitter.com/FLtq1xqofp
— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) October 12, 2017
The article reports that at Comic-Con in San Diego in July 2015, Price met Hackett for the first time and he continuously propositioned her in a cab, saying “You will love my dick.” Price, despite hearing that Hackett was uninterested (and that she is a lesbian with a wife and children) refused to stop. The article writes:
“Hackett says she reported the incident to Amazon executives immediately. An outside investigator, Christine Farrell of Public Interest Investigations Inc., was brought in and spoke to Hackett and executives at Amazon. Hackett says she was never told the outcome of that inquiry, but notes that she hasn’t seen Price at any events involving her shows.”
Her interview about this “shocking and surreal” event talks about the difficulty of speaking out, the anxiety the event has left her with, and how the Harvey Weinstein scandal inspired her to go forward. The fact that it was hard for Hackett, who says she has “some power” as a producer (as well as the daughter of writer Philip K. Dick), should speak volumes about why so many women in more fragile positions stay silent.
After the publication, Amazon stated “Roy Price is on leave of absence effective immediately” and named COO Albert Cheng as interim head of the division. “We are reviewing our options for our projects we have with the Weinstein Company,” a spokesperson said.
It’s inspiring to see the waves of brave women speaking out against abusers in the industry, and Hackett’s story shows that none of this violence end solely with getting rid of Weinstein. It ends when we change the culture of Hollywood, diversify the industry, and create a space that allows for survivors to safety tell their stories.
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