December 2, 2017 December 2, 2017 bcnn1wp
Former NPR Radio Host John Hockenberry Accused of Sexual Harassment
NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 24: Reporter John Hockenberry speaks during Future Of Film Panel: Stories By Numbers – 2014 Tribeca Film Festival at SVA Theater on April 24, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images for the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival)
Former National Public Radio host John Hockenberry is being accused of sexual harassment by some past colleagues, according to a New York magazine web story.
The four-time Emmy winner and Peabody Awards recipient, who left his NPR show The Takeaway in August, is being accused in an article written by a one-time guest on his program. Author Suki Kim said after her 2014 appearance, Hockenberry sent "a series" of emails that made her uncomfortable, including one with a subject line, "Need another dose of you."
In the wake of recent widespread media coverage of sexual harassments by prominent Hollywood and media figures, Kim asked former Hockenberry colleagues about any uncomfortable incidents.
One former colleague, Kristen Meinzer, told Kim that Hockenberry made "unwanted advances" and wrote "sexually-explicit notes" to her on social media. Others allegedly reported similar behavior, but declined to be named in the story.
Hockenberry, who is 61 years old and paralyzed from the waist down after an accident in 1976, issued a statement to New York, saying that he was horrified people felt uncomfortable.
"Looking back, my behavior was not always appropriate and I'm sorry. It horrifies me that I made the talented and driven people I worked with feel uncomfortable, and that the stress around putting together a great show was made worse by my behavior. Having to deal with my own physical limitations has given me an understanding of powerlessness, and I should have been more aware of how the power I wielded over others, coupled with inappropriate comments and communications, could be construed. I have no excuses."
SOURCE: Deadline, Bruce Haring
Previous Here's When You Can See 2017's Only Supermoon
Next Desperate Search for 15-Year-Old Texas Girl Believed to Have Been Lured by 'Much Older' Man She Met on Snapchat