Scandal-hit Amazon Studios appoints woman to top job

Amazon has appointed NBC’s entertainment president Jennifer Salke to head its movie and television studios following the resignation of Roy Price over allegations of sexual harassment, it says.

Price quit in October after a producer for The Man in the High Castle — one of the studio’s highest-profile shows — said he had repeatedly propositioned her in 2015, making lewd suggestions during a taxi ride.

“I am both homoured and emboldened by the opportunity to lead this extraordinary business,” the new head of Amazon Studios said, adding that moving on from NBC was “bittersweet”. “It’s an exciting time to be a content creator and I look forward to being on the front lines of an innovative business with storytelling at its heart,” she said.

Salke had impressed executives through the “deep relationships she has nurtured” over a career that had also taken spells at 20th Century Fox and Aaron Spelling Productions, Amazon said. “She’s built an impeccable reputation as a big leader who emphasises creativity, collaboration and teamwork,” it said.

Price’s downfall came in the wake of sexual predation allegations against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, sparked by investigations in The New York Times and The New Yorker.

The scandal touched off a deluge of accusations against men in entertainment, politics and the media.

The Los Angeles district attorney’s office said on Friday it was considering misconduct charges against actor Steven Seagal. The action star was accused by Portia de Rossi, the actress and wife of chat queen Ellen DeGeneres, in November of trying to expose himself to her during an audition.

Jenny McCarthy, who first accused Seagal in 1998, recently revisited her encounter with the actor when auditioning for his 1995 movie Under Siege 2, when he allegedly asked her twice to lower her dress.

Prosecutors said they were also looking at three sexual assault cases against Weinstein, who faces parallel investigations in New York and London, but has repeatedly denied having nonconsensual sex.