Who is Michael Corn? Ex-boss at ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’ sued for sexual assault
TV broadcasting company ABC has found itself embroiled in a sexual assault lawsuit, along with former employee Michael Corn. Two women have accused Corn of sexually assaulting them, and the network of not doing anything, despite knowing about his behavior. Corn was abruptly fired by the network in April 2021, but it appears to have been too little too late, with the lawsuit naming them as a defendant along with Corn.
The former 'Good Morning America' (GMA) producer is the latest to be embroiled in a sexual assault controversy, as more and more victims are beginning to speak up. In early August, a woman accused SNL alum Horatio Sanz of grooming her, in front of the cast members including Jimmy Fallon. Days later, legendary singer Bob Dylan became embroiled in a sexual assault controversy, after a woman sued him for assaulting her in 1965. In March, Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson was also sued for sexual assault.
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The lawsuit, filed by current ABC employee Kirstyn Crawford also recounts the story of Jill McClain and says ABC "looked the other way" and "elevated Corn through the ranks" despite knowing about Corn's behavior. The former producer has hit back, slamming the allegations. ABC meanwhile, has refused to comment on the matter.
Who is Michael Corn?
A graduate of the University of Michigan, Corn has a long history with ABC. He joined ABC as an investigative producer for GMA in 2002 and worked his way up. He spent years at the program and helped "bring to life" the famous Whistle-Stop Tour in 2008. In 2011, he was tapped to become the executive producer of 'World News at ABC', where he saw the program draw its "biggest audience in five years". In 2014, he was promoted to GMA's senior executive producer, where he led the show to become the most-watched morning program on network TV.
Under Corn, GMA landed five Emmy Awards, including back-to-back wins in 2017 and 2018 for the 'Outstanding Morning Program'. In April 2021, he suddenly left ABC for Dallas-based Nexstar. Corn joined Nextstar's NewsNation as President of its national channel. Beyond his professional life, not much is known about Corn. He does have a public Twitter profile, but like most journalists uses it to promote his work. His Instagram profile is set to private, but it reveals he is a father. it's unclear who Corn is married to.
At the moment, most of what we know about Corn comes from his LinkedIn profile and the lawsuit against him. It was filed in New York State Court by Crawford, with McClain's allegations used for support.
What is Corn accused of?
Crawford alleges Corn assaulted her in 2015 when the duo went to Los Angeles to cover the Academy Awards. When the two were in an Uber, Corn allegedly "grabbed Crawford’s head and pulled it into his chest," and then "began kissing Crawford on the head and rubbing her legs." He also allegedly assaulted McClain on two occasions, groping her on a flight and in a hotel room in 2010 and 2011. The suit also says "Between 2010 and 2021, Corn also created and perpetuated a toxic work environment fraught with discrimination against and marginalization of women, including verbal and physical abuse and unwelcome sexualized comments and harassment." GMA host George Stephanopoulos urged Crawford to report the abuse, but she was cautioned against it by the then-senior director of publicity for "GMA” Heather Riley.
Crawford says ABC learned about the complaints against Corn as early as 2017 but did nothing about it. She says the network "facilitated the hostile workplace that Corn cultivated through his influence over subordinates’ careers, sexual harassment, gaslighting, and anger management issues." It's unclear if those allegations were the reason for his sudden exit, at the time no explanation was provided either by Corn or ABC.
The network has so far refused to address the lawsuit, but Corn has hit back. Corn's lawyer Elizabeth Locke released a statement and "vehemently" denied the allegations. She also released a series of emails between Crawford and Corn, which "demonstrate that these allegations are completely and demonstrably false." Corn also released a statement, and called the allegations by McClain "fabricated".