LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) Heather Perry, TV and movie exec and head of Live Nation Productions who had been put on leave because of alleged abusive behavior, has parted ways with the company according to Billboard.
Parry, who helped broker the deal for “A Star Is Born” and was considered a powerful executive in the the film and television space, had been put on leave following an investigation of workplace bullying.
“Heather Parry will be leaving Live Nation, effective immediately,” Live Nation officials said in a statement sent to Billboard. “Live Nation is committed to the Live Nation Productions division and to our pipeline of artist-driven projects which will be led moving forward by current executives Ryan Kroft, Matt Stein and Chad Wasser.”
Wasser is the acting GM at Live Nation Productions and Stein oversees the department scripted projects. Kroft runs unscripted, per Billboard.
A source at Live Nation confirmed to Billboard that the inquiry “did not validate claims” from a former employee that Parry “was racist or homophobic” but found the work environment she created did not meet the “expectation of leadership” at the company.
“I’m grateful that the company’s independent inquiry showed that I am not racist or homophobic,” Parry, the former head of Live Nation Productions, said in a statement to Billboard. “Being accused in the media of something I’m not has been incredibly painful.”
Parry was placed on leave Dec. 21 after a Variety story detailed her alleged abuse that included allegations by 23 former employees of Live Nation and Happy Madison Productions. The employees said Parry would denigrate assistants and other staffers and spoke in offensive terms about women, homosexuals and African-Americans.
However, the report also included transcription from an internal meeting on the matter spearheaded by Live Nation President Joe Berchtold and CFO Kathy Willard, in which they told employees that Parry was unlikely to change her behavior and asked staffers to forgive her. Apparently that recording is also the focus of an investigation by law firm Paul Hastings LLP and lead investigator Elena Baca, several sources told Variety.
The recording allegedly includes two employees telling the executives they sought therapy because of Parry’s abuse, with one claiming he suffered health problems because of it. The executives apparently respond that, while acknowledging Parry’s abrasiveness, that letting her go would mean shutting down the department and adversely affecting “the other 12 people” at the production division.
Baca has also apparently been looking into who may have hijacked a Live Nation twitter account to complain about Parry, writing an open letter to Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino:
“I want a normal working environment,” the anonymous person wrote. “One where I don’t have to fear being called an expletive or have something thrown at me or one where I don’t have to cry at my desk daily. Is that too hard to ask for?”
Rapino had no comment on the article, but Parry said through her attorney that she was committed to maintaining “a safe and respectful workplace.”
“It’s unfortunate, as a woman running a new division at one of the largest entertainment companies in the world, that you can be targeted simply because of how others perceive a woman in power,” she said. “I am deeply saddened by these accusations and gossip that in no way reflect who I am, or what I truly value. If I hurt someone, I am sorry and apologize as that was never my intention,” she said.
h/t Billboard
