Amazon senior vice president Jeff Blackburn sent an email to employees expressing his dismay with the sexual harassment allegations surrounding Harvey Weinstein and deposed Amazon Studios chief Roy Price, calling the news “sad and very disappointing to me.”
The streaming giant put Price on a leave of absence following an article in which “The Man in the High Castle” producer Isa Hackett accused Price of telling her she would “love my dick” at San Diego Comic-Con in 2015. The company has tapped Albert Cheng to fill in for Price.
Read Blackburns’ full memo below, which was obtained by Buzzfeed News:
Team,
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. If a concern is brought to our attention, we investigate it quickly and thoroughly. Sometimes we will hire an outside investigator to ensure impartiality. I’d like to emphasize, that at any time, if you have any concerns related to harassment or abuse at Amazon, please immediately report the incident to your manager, your HR business partner, the legal department, or the Amazon Ethics Hotline (in the U.S., [redacted]).
I recognize that you may have questions as a result of the recent media reporting, but please understand that we cannot discuss the specifics of investigations that we conduct regarding the behavior of individual employees. As you know, Roy Price is on leave of absence for an indefinite period of time. I want to thank Albert for stepping up in the interim to lead the org. We are also reviewing our options with the two projects we have with The Weinstein Co. The team is moving as quickly as possible to close on a resolution.
I remain incredibly optimistic about the future of Amazon Studios and what we have planned in FY-18 and beyond. We need to ensure that our focus remains on our customers, and that we are executing on their behalf. Thank you for your dedication and commitment to our creators and talent, who are making some of the very best content available on TV and in theaters all over the world.
As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.
Jeff