ABC will no longer be broadcasting the planned special celebrating 50 years of Rolling Stone, a person with knowledge of the matter told TheWrap.
The three-hour “Rolling Stone 50” special was previously scheduled to air February 7. Announced during upfronts 2017, the show would have featured short films, live performances, and surprise musical pairings showcasing the magazine’s 50-year history. Parent company Wenner Media would have produced alongside Done + Dusted. It would have been executive-produced by Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner, Gus Wenner, Ian Stewart, David Jammy and Katy Mullan.
ABC declined to comment on show’s cancelation.
The cancelation comes after two men accused Jann Wenner of sexual assault. Former Rolling Stone employee Jonathan Wells on Friday said Wenner invited him to his home in February 1983 for a night of partying where the two men drank and did cocaine, with Wenner “dangling the idea of a job” at Rolling Stone for Wells.
According to Wells, at one point Wenner called a female prosititute, and it was after she left that the alleged assault took place. “I was lying back and he put himself on top of me,” Wells said. “He was kissing me, but you know, normal stuff, kissing my chest. I remember him putting his penis in my mouth. I remember him sucking me, going down on me. I remember his hair on my stomach.”
Freelance writer Ben Ryan said in November that Wenner engaged in sexually inappropriate behavior in his Upper West Side townhouse more than a decade ago and then offered Ryan an opportunity to write for Men’s Journal in exchange for sex.
Rolling Stone was sold to Penske Media after going up for sale in September.
The Hollywood Reporter first reported the news.