BY: Denver Sean
Published 7 years ago
L.A. Reid’s abrupt exit from Sony Music may not have been as graceful as it was initially presented.
The music mogul and former head of Epic Records has been accused of sexual harassment by a co-worker.
via NY Post:
The 60-year old music industry veteran allegedly made inappropriate physical advances toward an assistant at last December’s company holiday party, among other instances, according to a March 22 letter a lawyer for the woman sent to Julie Swidler, Sony Music’s General Counsel, said a source who provided details from the letter.
The female assistant, whose name The Post is withholding, also claims Reid, who has led Epic for nearly six years, also asked her to lie down in bed with him and give him a hug while the two were at a hotel while traveling on business, the letter alleges.
Reid, who is married, also made comments about what clothes he liked her to wear and described her as looking “fine,” the letter claims.
Sony Music, in a one-sentence statement on Saturday — “L.A. Reid will be leaving the company” — confirmed the executive was on his way out. It did not elaborate.
When asked about the complaints made in the letter, Sony Music on Sunday had no comment.
Sony Music CEO Rob Stringer, who took over the top spot at the company last month, appears to have taken decisive action in the first major crisis to come along.
“We are not allowing a culture like that in this company,” one insider familiar with Reid’s ouster told The Post, “no matter how much a person brings to the bottom line.”
Reid’s recent successes include signing Meghan Trainor, Future, Fifth Harmony and DJ Khaled — who currently has the No. 1 hit on Billboard’s Hot 100, with “I’m the One.”
Reached Sunday night, Reid’s lawyer, Joel Katz, the head of Greenberg Traurig’s global entertainment and media practice, had no comment.
A second source, familiar with the thinking of Reid’s camp, said the March 22 letter is inaccurate.
Meanwhile, Reid, also known as Antonio Reid, has been telling friends since Thursday, when reports of his ouster started ricocheting around the music industry, that he is talking to Warner Music Group boss Len Blavatnik about a position running the company’s Warner Brothers label, sources said.
Yikes.