Steve McPherson leaves ABC during sexual harassment investigation

By Andrea Reiher

July 28, 2010 10:29 PM ET

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ABC Entertainment chief Steve McPherson resigned from the network Tuesday (July 28), with a year left on his contract and rumors flying about his tenuous relationship with his boss Anne Sweeney.

Now the Hollywood Reporter's Live Feed is reporting that McPherson resigned during an internal sexual harassment investigation. A source tells THR that multiple harassment complaints were made against McPherson and that ABC had been looking into the complaints for the past three weeks.

McPherson's lawyer Tom Hoberman issued the following statement:

Upon Steve McPherson returning to work from his vacation on Monday, he made a voluntary decision to resign and ABC accepted his resignation. It is not uncommon for high level executives to be the subject of gossip and innuendo. That would include rumors of internal situations which can easily be misinterpreted or misrepresented. Seems like it goes with the territory, and there is nothing further to discuss.

ABC's only response thus far has been to issue a statement as well:

Steve McPherson today submitted his resignation as President, ABC Entertainment Group, and the Company accepted. Mr. McPherson said, "I want to thank the wonderful team of individuals who have worked with me throughout my time here and wish them nothing but the best." A replacement for Mr. McPherson will be announced shortly.

The replacement has since been announced -- Paul Lee, the current head of ABC Family, will be taking over. Like McPherson, he will manage both ABC Entertainment and ABC Studios.

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