Former Billboard CEO Accused Of Sexiual Harrasment, Hiding Misconduct Of Others

Ousted Billboard, Spin and Hollywood Reporter CEO John Amato was reportedly pushed out earlier this month after an internal investigation uncovered allegations of sexual harassment and efforts to cover up misconduct by others.

In May, The Daily Beast reported that John Amato had derailed several stories in publications under his control about sexual misconduct by his close friend and Republic Records' former president Charlie Walk.  An internal investigation then uncovered other allegations of misconduct by Amato. 

Three sources told the Daily Beast that the investigation allegedly raised serious concerns about sexual harassment and other wrongdoing by Amato himself, as well as, a failure to deal properly with complaints against others in the company.  Accusations against Amato's EVP Julian Holguin and CFO Moksha Fitzgibbons were both allegedly ignored or in two cases allegedly led to threats or firings for unrelated perceived offenses after employees reported allegations to human resources.

There are also reportedly allegations of financial wrongdoing.

A May story in The Daily Beast alleged that, “Amato worked to derail at least three stories about Walk’s alleged misdeeds from being published,” according multiple sources. He reportedly insisted that he personally review stories about Walk, and then never published any of the articles.

MORE: Billboard, Hollywood Reporter CEO Exits Amid Investigation