ABC Pulls ‘The Great American Baking Show’ & Axes Judge Johnny Iuzzini Amid Sexual Misconduct Allegations
ABC has fired The Great American Baking Show judge Johnny Iuzzini and axed the remaining episodes of his show amid sexual misconduct allegations.
“In light of allegations that recently came to our attention, ABC has ended its relationship with Johnny Iuzzini and will not be airing the remainder of The Great American Baking Show episodes,” an ABC spokesperson said in a statement. “ABC takes matters such as those described in the allegations very seriously and has come to the conclusion that they violate our standards of conduct. This season’s winner will be announced at a later date.”
Claims against Iuzzini first surfaced days after Thanksgiving when Mic posted a story in which four former employees described allegations of sexual harassment and abuse while working under Iuzzini at a New York restaurant between 2009 and 2011. It followed up with a second report Tuesday in which four more women came forward with new allegations. Two of his accusers said management was aware of the allegations as early as 2004, and the other two claimed that Iuzzini abused his power and influence over female subordinates and associates.
Iuzzini denied the charges in a statement to Mic, saying they were “simply untrue.”
Iuzzini was the sole remaining judge who had been with the baking competition series since its 2015 launch. Before that he spent two seasons as the head judge on Bravo’s Top Chef: Just Desserts and was a contestant on Food Network’s sabotage-themed cooking competition series Cutthroat Kitchen in 2014.
ABC added that episodes of The Great Christmas Light Fight and CMA Country Christmas will air in Great American Baking Show‘s 9 PM Thursday slot this week and next. Season 3 of the series premiered last week.
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