Fox is taking the allegations against Neil deGrasse Tyson seriously and have pulled back from his ‘Cosmos’ show while the investigation plays out. Currently, the investigation into inappropriate behavior by the host by Fox and National Geographic is still ongoing. Fox has declined to comment as to where the investigation currently stands.
Meanwhile, ‘Cosmos: Possible Worlds’ was set to debut on March 3rd, 2019 but that is no longer the case. While the show might be delayed indefinitely, that doesn’t mean that the network has reached a decision at this time.
Three women have accused the astrophysicist of sexual misconduct. Of the women, we know that one of them is Tyson’s assistant Ashley Watson who is claiming that he tried to pressure her into sex and made other sexual comments around her. Another is Dr. Katelyn Allers who is a professor of physics and astronomy at Bucknell University. She claims that Tyson groped her during a 2009 meeting of the American Astronomical Society. The most serious of these was from a former classmate of Tyson who accused Tyson of raping her in the late 1980s.
When allegations by Dr. Katelyn Allers and Ashley Watson of inappropriate sexual advances surfaced, Nat Geo pulled the plug on “Star Talk.” The studio is holding any new episodes from the series “until the investigation is complete” and further stated “we expect that to happen in the next few weeks, at which time we’ll make a final decision.”
Tyson has since gone on the record on social media to deny these accusations claiming:
“Evidence always matters. But what happens when it’s just one person’s word against another’s, and the stories don’t agree? That’s when people tend to pass judgment on who is more credible than whom. And that’s when an impartial investigation can best serve the truth — and would have my full cooperation to do so.”
Do you prefer studios putting shows like this on pause instead of outright canceling them until an investigation can occur? Will this set a new precedent as to how matters such as this are investigated in the future? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
