“Honest Trailers” creator Andy Signore was fired Sunday following sexual misconduct claims from several women, his former employers at Defy Media and Screen Junkies said in a statement.
“There is simply no justification for this egregious and intolerable behavior,” the statement reads. “In August, DEFY’s HR team was made aware of allegations made against Andy, at which time an investigation was launched.”
It continues: “On Friday, new information became available and the scope and magnitude of his inappropriate actions became apparent. We are acting swiftly to address the concerns of the people affected, and that going forward, our community is free of harassment or discrimination of any kind. Our Screen Junkies colleagues and freelancers are a team of remarkable creators serving loyal fans and we will support and protect them. If anyone else is aware of behavior of this type, we would encourage them to bring it to our attention.”
— DEFY Media (@defymedia) October 9, 2017
One of the women who stepped forward, April O’Donnell, told TheWrap that Signore tried to sexually assault her repeatedly and threatened to get her boyfriend fired from his job at ScreenJunkies if she spoke out. She said she and two other women went to the Screen Junkies human resources department in July to file formal complaints.
Another woman, Emma Bowers, said that when she worked as an intern for Signore, he came across pin-up photos she had done in the past and wrote to her about “jacking it to you in your undies!” Signore then asked Bowers to come over so he could do that in person.
“You can read a book for all I care,” she quoted him saying.
Bowers added that her interactions with Signore killed her interest in pursuing a career in costume design — the field where she hoped her internship might lead.
Another woman, Devin Murphy, tweeted direct messages and an email “he sent to me that scares me.” In the messages, he repeatedly urges her to dress up in a costume.
The Emmy-nominated “Honest Trailers” is a short-form variety series that satirizes film, and occasionally television, trailers. It launched in 2012 and its YouTube page has amassed over 157 million views. Screen Junkies, the channel that hosts “Honest Trailers,” has over 6.2 million subscribers.
Defy is the parent company to Screen Junkies YouTube, where Signore worked and served as senior vice president of content.
Signore has not responded to TheWrap’s requests for comment.