‘Good Morning America’ Staffer Claims ABC Retaliated Against Her After Sexual Assault Complaint Was Filed

Ted Johnson
·2 min read
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A staffer on Good Morning America has filed a new claim against ABC, contending that the network retaliated against her after she filed a formal complaint alleging that the show’s top producer sexually assaulted her.

The staffer, Kirstyn Crawford, in an amendment to her lawsuit (read it here) filed on Wednesday, alleged that the network retaliated against her this year “by not offering her the job security and salary increase that she deserved.”

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Crawford filed a lawsuit last month against ABC and Michael Corn, the former top producer of GMA, alleging that Corn sexually assaulted her during a trip to Los Angeles in 2015, when the show was covering the Academy Awards. Corn has denied the claims, calling them “demonstrably false.” He abruptly departed the show in April and now is president of Nexstar’s NewsNation.

In her amended complaint, Crawford contends that after she filed a formal complaint against Corn in February, the network delayed reaching out to her about a new contract.

“It was not until July 2021, approximately four months after Crawford made the formal complaint, and just one month before her 2018 contract was set to expire, that ABC reached out to Crawford about her expiring contract,” according to her lawsuit. “Instead of offering Crawford another three-year contract, ABC merely offered a six-month extension and did not even offer a nominal salary increase.”

In her original lawsuit, Crawford had alleged that network executives were made aware in 2017 of her claim against Corn but did not take action.

An ABC News spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment. When Crawford filed her lawsuit, the network issued a statement saying that it “disputes the claims made against it and will address this matter in court.”

The Wall Street Journal first reported on the amended complaint.

Crawford’s lawsuit also cites claims made by Jill McClain, a former ABC News staffer, over incidents that occurred in 2010, when she and Corn worked on World News Tonight with Diane Sawyer.

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