Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Warner Bros. Chair Being Investigated for Sexual Misconduct
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
March 7, 2019

Share

LOS ANGELES — WarnerMedia is investigating claims that Warner Bros. chairman and CEO Kevin Tsujihara promised acting roles in exchange for sex as detailed in The Hollywood Reporter Wednesday.

The article includes text messages between British actress Charlotte Kirk and Tsujihara going back to 2013 when they were introduced by Australian billionaire James Packer at the Hotel Bel Air past midnight. Packer and his business partner Brett Ratner were close to closing a production deal with the studio at the time.

“Whenever we receive new allegations, it is our standard practice to conduct an appropriate investigation. And that is what we will do here.” — a rep for WarnerMedia

The messages suggest a quid pro quo sexual relationship between the aspiring actress and the studio head in which he made promises that he’d introduce her to influential executives and she’d be considered for roles in movies and television. They also show she was determined to hold Tsujihara, Packer and Ratner accountable.

“You’re very busy I know but when we were in that motel having sex u said u would help me and when u just ignore me like you’re doing now it makes me feel used,” Kirk writes in one of the reported texts. “Are u going to help me like u said u would?”

Some messages also imply that Kirk believes that she was used to help close the $450 million co-financing deal for Packer and Ratner’s RatPac Entertainment.

“Whenever we receive new allegations, it is our standard practice to conduct an appropriate investigation,” a rep for WarnerMedia said in a statement Wednesday. “And that is what we will do here.”

The expose comes two days after AT&T-owned WarnerMedia announced an expanded role for Tsujihara, who is already one of Hollywood’s most powerful executives. He will continue running the movie studio, which he has run since 2013, but is adding a portfolio of kids and young adults businesses, including Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and Turner Classic Movies.

Kirk Denies That Any Inappropriate Behavior Occurred

WarnerMedia representatives say a prior investigation did not find impropriety in Kirk’s casting in films like “Ocean’s 8.” She also appeared in the 2016 New Line release “How To Be Single.”

When asked to comment on the allegations, an attorney for Tsujihara would only give a brief statement: “Mr. Tsujihara did not have a direct role in the actress being cast in any movie.”

“I emphatically deny any inappropriate behaviour on the part of Brett Ratner, James Packer, and Kevin Tsujihara, and I have no claims against any of them. Mr. Tsujihara never promised me anything.” — British actress Charlotte Kirk

In her own statement, Kirk denies that any inappropriate behavior occurred with Tsujihara.

“I emphatically deny any inappropriate behaviour on the part of Brett Ratner, James Packer, and Kevin Tsujihara, and I have no claims against any of them,” Kirk said in her statement. “Mr. Tsujihara never promised me anything.”

The article describes an escalating situation in which Kirk expressed frustration that she was not getting significant roles or auditions and threatened to involve her attorney. The report said that in response, Ratner helped broker a draft settlement agreement that would guarantee her auditions and a part in one of Ratner’s movies.

In her statement, Kirk said that there were never any legal settlements or agreements entered into between herself and Ratner in 2016.

“Brett Ratner helped me out of friendship to assist me in getting auditions and trying to help me find an agent, and I have no issues with him or claims against him,” Kirk wrote.

Ratner was accused of sexual misconduct in 2017 by multiple women, which he has denied, but led to Warner Bros. cutting ties with him as the studio waited for the RatPac financing deal to expire in March 2018.

A representative for Ratner did not immediately respond to request for comment.

DON'T MISS

Trump Administration Directs All Federal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Staff Be Put on Leave

DON'T MISS

Baseball’s Newest Hall of Famers: Suzuki, Sabathia, Wagner

DON'T MISS

‘Once in a Lifetime’ Snow Hits Parts of the US South

DON'T MISS

Trump Temporarily Halts Leasing and Permitting for Wind Energy Projects

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Who Dealt Deadly Fentanyl Pill Gets 80-Month Prison Term

DON'T MISS

What’s Next for EVs as Trump Moves to Revoke Biden-Era Incentives?

DON'T MISS

US Throws out Policies Limiting Arrests of Migrants at Sensitive Locations like Schools, Churches

DON'T MISS

Visalia Police Find Man Shot Near Shopping Center. Tips Sought.

DON'T MISS

Convicted Jan. 6 Rioter Benjamin Martin Still Going to Prison

DON'T MISS

Is Lawsuit on Planned Reedley Job Center a ‘Shakedown’?

UP NEXT

The Top 24 Most Anticipated Movie Blockbusters of 2025

UP NEXT

Nintendo’s New Switch 2 Console Will Come Out in 2025

UP NEXT

Sting, Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish and the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Perform at FireAid Benefit Concert

UP NEXT

Fresno’s Jeff Atmajian, Orchestrator of ‘Joker’ and ‘Wicked,’ Speaks at Saroyan Theatre

UP NEXT

David Lynch, Visionary Filmmaker Behind ‘Twin Peaks’ and ‘Mulholland Drive,’ Dies at 78

UP NEXT

Ohtani and Dodgers Featured on Four of ESPN’s First 10 Sunday Night Baseball Broadcasts

UP NEXT

Crunchy Is the Texture of the Moment and People Just Can’t Get Enough

UP NEXT

What Are You Sipping in 2025? These Beverage Trends Might Just Surprise You

UP NEXT

Luke Bryan Brings ‘Farm Tour’ to Clovis at Harlan Ranch

UP NEXT

‘Wicked’ Tops SAG Awards Nominations as Many Big Names Are Snubbed

Trump Temporarily Halts Leasing and Permitting for Wind Energy Projects

8 hours ago

Fresno Man Who Dealt Deadly Fentanyl Pill Gets 80-Month Prison Term

8 hours ago

What’s Next for EVs as Trump Moves to Revoke Biden-Era Incentives?

8 hours ago

US Throws out Policies Limiting Arrests of Migrants at Sensitive Locations like Schools, Churches

8 hours ago

Visalia Police Find Man Shot Near Shopping Center. Tips Sought.

8 hours ago

Convicted Jan. 6 Rioter Benjamin Martin Still Going to Prison

9 hours ago

Is Lawsuit on Planned Reedley Job Center a ‘Shakedown’?

9 hours ago

Much of the Damage from the LA Fires Could Have Been Averted

11 hours ago

CA Sued the Tar Out of Trump the First Time Around. How Did It Do?

11 hours ago

Israel’s Top General Resigns over Oct. 7 Failures, Adding to Pressure on Netanyahu

12 hours ago

Trump Administration Directs All Federal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Staff Be Put on Leave

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s administration is directing that all federal diversity, equity and inclusion staff be put on pai...

4 hours ago

President Donald Trump signs an executive order as he attends an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event at Capital One Arena, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP/Evan Vucci)
4 hours ago

Trump Administration Directs All Federal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Staff Be Put on Leave

Ichiro Suzuki in Yankee Pinstripes
7 hours ago

Baseball’s Newest Hall of Famers: Suzuki, Sabathia, Wagner

People walk past the 1900 Storm memorial sculpture on Seawall Blvd. during an icy winter storm on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 in Galveston, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)
7 hours ago

‘Once in a Lifetime’ Snow Hits Parts of the US South

The five turbines of Block Island Wind Farm operate, Dec. 7, 2023, off the coast of Block Island, R.I., during a tour organized by Orsted. (AP File)
8 hours ago

Trump Temporarily Halts Leasing and Permitting for Wind Energy Projects

Photo of Mexican Oxy, fentanyl laced blue pills
8 hours ago

Fresno Man Who Dealt Deadly Fentanyl Pill Gets 80-Month Prison Term

President Donald Trump talks about the Endurance all-electric pickup truck, made in Lordstown, Ohio, at the White House, Sept. 28, 2020, in Washington. (AP File)
8 hours ago

What’s Next for EVs as Trump Moves to Revoke Biden-Era Incentives?

A Border Patrol truck rides along the border wall in Sunland Park, N.M., Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP/Andres Leighton)
8 hours ago

US Throws out Policies Limiting Arrests of Migrants at Sensitive Locations like Schools, Churches

Police are investigating after a man was found shot near a Visalia shopping center and transported to Kaweah Health.
8 hours ago

Visalia Police Find Man Shot Near Shopping Center. Tips Sought.

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend