ABC News has settled a lawsuit filed by former Good Morning America producer Kirstyn Crawford, who accused the network of failing to act after she accused her boss of misconduct and harassment.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the lawsuit, which was filed in 2021, stated that Crawford accused Michael Corn of assaulting her on two occasions in 2015 during a work trip to Los Angeles for the Academy Awards. The lawsuit also included allegations from former ABC News producer Jill McClain, who accused Corn of assaulting her on two separate work trips. The lawsuit was filed in 2021, years after the alleged incidents took place.
Crawford claimed ABC News was aware that Corn “had a propensity to sexually harass female colleagues” after the former senior news executive was reported by several other women for similarly inappropriate behavior.
She also claimed that ABC News continued to promote him, enabling the “hostile workplace that [he] cultivated through his influence over subordinates’ careers, sexual harassment, gaslighting, and anger management issues.”
THR reports that the lawsuit has been dismissed for both ABC News and Corn with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled. Crawford’s lawyers also reportedly signed the filing. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
Corn has since denied the allegations, calling them “demonstrably false.” At the time of the incident, he was a news executive at the network before his abrupt exit in 2021. He is now the president of NewsNation.
Corn’s attorneys did not return Decider’s request for comment.
ABC News issued a statement to THR thanking Crawford for “courageously speaking out about her experience at ABC News.” The statement also notes, “Ms. Crawford thanks ABC News for its prompt response to her formal complaint in 2021.”
After Crawford filed her lawsuit in 2021, ABC News held an independent investigation over how it responded to the allegations. The company stated in a subsequent court filing that they “determined that it was more likely than not” that Corn had violated the company’s policies.
Crawford claimed ABC officials failed to act in 2017 after they were made aware of the alleged incident.
When the lawsuit was filed in 2021, ABC News denied her claims that they ignored the allegations against Corn.
The lawsuit was originally dismissed last year because the three-year statute of limitations had passed, but an appeals court revived the claims in May of this year after deciding Crawford’s accusations of sex discrimination and harassment were still timely.