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Amazon Studios Suspends Head Roy Price Amid Sexual Harassment Allegations

Roy Price.

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Amazon Studios has suspended Amazon Studios executive Roy Price in the wake of allegations by Man in the High Castle executive producer Isa Hackett that he sexually harassed her. The allegations were first reported in August, but Hackett came forward yesterday with a more detailed public account, saying that Price told her, “You will love my dick” in a cab on the way to an Amazon staff party. (According to the article by Kim Masters, then-Amazon executive Mitchell Paull was also in the cab.) He later approached her at the party and yelled “Anal sex!” in her ear.

Hackett, who is the daughter of Philip K. Dick, said that she was inspired to come forward with further details by the now-dozens of women who have publicly accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment and, in some cases, rape. “I think women inspire each other,” she told Masters. “I feel inspired by the other women who have been far braver than I am, who have come forward. I hope we all continue to inspire each other and ultimately create change.”

Before Price’s suspension, Rose McGowan publicly accused Price of continuing to do business with Harvey Weinstein even after she told Bezos that Weinstein had raped her—the first time McGowan, who according to the New York Times received a $100,000 settlement from Weinstein after a 1997 incident in a hotel room during the Sundance Film Festival, had made that charge public. And Lila Byock, a writer on Manhattan and The Leftovers, drew a connection between Price’s conduct and Amazon’s habit of giving male creators with no TV experience like Woody Allen series deals while routing established female creators like Transparent’s Jill Soloway through Amazon Prime’s pilot process, and passing on shows like The Handmaid’s Tale and Big Little Lies altogether.

“Price’s downfall,” Byock wrote, “should be a reminder to other Hollywood execs that competitors often see opportunity in your cultural blindspots.”