Amazon’s Roy Price resigns

Amazon Studios boss Roy Price has resigned from the company following his suspension last week after allegations of sexual misconduct.

Roy Price

Amazon said it had accepted Price’s resignation, which came after Isa Dick Hackett, one of the producers on drama The Man in the High Castle, said Price had made unwanted sexual advances towards her two years ago.

The company put Price on leave on October 12 and the exec was not expected to return to the role. Albert Cheng, chief operating officer at Amazon Studios, has assumed Price’s duties on an interim basis.

Hackett, the daughter of late science-fiction writer Philip K Dick, said she was inspired to go public after reports and accusations of abuse from several women against the film mogul Harvey Weinstein.

Price himself became embroiled in the Weinstein scandal after actor Rose McGowan (Charmed), one of the prominent detractors of Weinstein since the allegations against him arose, claimed on Twitter that Price had ignored her complaints “over and over” that she had been raped by the disgraced Hollywood producer.

Weinstein previously reached an out-of-court settlement with 44-year-old McGowan when she was 23 after an “episode in a hotel room,” reported in an exposé by the New York Times, but has denied many of the sexual assault claims against him. Weinstein was sacked by The Weinstein Company (TWC), which he co-founded, in wake of the New York Times piece.

Since then, Amazon has moved swiftly to take over production of Matt Weiner’s The Romanoffs and to kill off David O’Russell’s planned US$160m drama project entirely. Both were being produced by TWC.

Price has so far declined to comment on the situation.

Amazon’s senior VP of business development, Jeff Blackburn, sent a memo to employees saying that the company did not tolerate harassment or abuse.

The statement, seen by the Press Association, read: “The news coming out of Hollywood over the past week has been shocking and disturbing – and unfortunately we are a part of it. It’s sad and very disappointing to me. Amazon does not tolerate harassment or abuse of our employees or our business partners.”