Michael Corn, a former top producer of ABC's Good Morning America (GMA), is at the center of a new bombshell sexual assault lawsuit. Former ABC news staffer Kirstyn Crawford filed her complaint in the supreme court of the state of New York last week and alleged several instances of inappropriate advances made by the former producer during the time the two worked together.
In addition to the sexual assault allegations, Crawford points the finger at ABC for turning a blind eye to the toxic work environment. Crawford alleges that top executives looked the other way as complaints of the toxic work environment were brought forward.
The lawsuit accuses Corn of sexually assaulting both Crawford and another staffer, Jill McClain, while on business outings. The lawsuit details several incidents, with one including an Uber ride Corn and Crawford shared to their hotel during a business trip. The complaint alleges, “Corn pulled Crawford’s head into his chest and began kissing her and rubbing her legs. Each time Crawford tried to pull away, Corn pulled her right back. Later that evening, after Crawford believed she had escaped to her hotel room, Corn came to Crawford’s room for the express purpose of attempting to have sex with her.”
The lawsuit also details two incidents in which Corn allegedly groped McClain during a redeye business flight and again in a hotel room. The complaint describes in graphic detail the incident and explains that both women “were traumatized and rendered incapable of reporting the incidents for fear of losing their jobs, since Corn was their supervisor.”
On behalf of the toxic work environment, Crawford explains that between 2010 and 2021, Corn perpetrated a work environment that was “fraught with discrimination against and marginalization of women” and encouraged both physical and verbal abuse in addition to sexualized comments and harassment.
News of the lawsuit has sparked disagreement among staffers regarding the network’s handling of sexual assault allegations. Crawford worked closely alongside George Stephanopoulos as an anchor producer for GMA, and after reports of the lawsuit emerged, allegations surfaced that Stephanopoulos, a top anchor at the network, may have been aware of the toxic culture yet failed to do anything to stop it.
According to the Daily Beast, after news of the lawsuit broke, GMA staffers were on a team-wide phone call where they discussed the issues at the heart of the complaint. The Daily Beast reports that several people who were on the phone call allege that Stephanopoulos's co-host Robin Roberts may have hinted that her co-anchor knew about the toxic environment. Roberts allegedly stated on the call, “If this happened to someone on my team, I would have burned the place down.”
An ABC News spokesman, Caragh Fisher, later confirmed with The Daily Beast about the rumored attack on Stephanopoulos and his knowledge of a toxic culture by clarifying that Roberts was not intentionally accusing Stephanopoulos of any wrongdoing. “She told him personally that she wasn’t referring to him and called the team the next day to reiterate that her comment was not about any one individual,” Fisher explained.
ABC has responded to the allegation of a toxic work environment but has not addressed Crawford’s allegations against Corn specifically. “We are committed to upholding a safe and supportive work environment and have a process in place that thoroughly reviews and addresses complaints that are made.” The network shares, “ABC News disputes the claims made against it and will address this matter in court.”
Following the lawsuit, however, newly appointed ABC News president, Kim Goodwin, announced that ABC News has requested an independent investigation into Corn and his conduct during his time at ABC.
