Hollywood's wave of sexual assault allegations have reached the doorstep of Fox's The Four: Battle For Stardom, and a recent allegation made against one of the show's judges will affect the competition's final stretch. Republic Records Group president and panelist on the reality singing competition series, Charlie Walk, will not be present for the show's finale following accusations of sexual harassment being lodged against him earlier this week. While Walk was placed on leave by his company, Republic Records, its been reported the music mogul himself decided to step aside from the final episode of The Four.
Charlie Walk is out of The Four's finale but will appear in the penultimate episode of the series, which was taped prior to the revelation that he wouldn't appear in the show's finale. Walk's future with The Four is currently unknown, although at this time, no official renewal has come from Fox that guarantees the singing series will return for Season 2. Fox has declined comment to Variety about the situation, but Walk offered up the following statement that explained his decision to step away from The Four and addressed the accusations lodged against him:
Out of respect for the contestants, my fellow judges and everyone involved with the show, I have made the decision not to attend the finale of The Four. I do not want my presence to be a distraction. Needless to say this is very upsetting. Although I continue to support the 'Me Too' movement, there has been an extreme rush to judgment against me in this particular case which is unfair and inconsistent with anything that even actually happened. I welcome any investigation so that in short order these unfounded and hurtful accusations can be put to rest.
The allegations lodged against Charlie Walk started with Life Lab founder Tristan Coopersmith, who worked with Walk at Sony Music years ago. In an open letter that was released on Monday, Coopersmith alleged that Walk would frequently discuss his sexual fantasies about her, and even at one point forced her into his bedroom and onto his bed while his wife was in the next room. Coopersmith reported Walk to another employee a year following these incidents and alleged she was offered an exit from the company, which she took.
Walk has since denied the accusations made by Coopersmith, who, in the time following her accusations, has had details of her story pop up in another accusation lodged against Charlie Walk by an anonymous female. The woman, who shared her story with Deadline, said that while she couldn't speak specifically to Coopersmith's story, experienced events very similar when she worked for Charlie Walk at Republic Records. In addition to some of the same behavior that happened with Tristan Coopersmith, the second woman alleged Walk also sent her sexually explicit images and video to her Snapchat. The woman wanted to tell her story to give weight to Coopersmith's open letter against Walk, but asked to remain anonymous because she still works in the music industry.
The Four airs on Fox Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. ET. For more information regarding brand new or returning television in 2018, be sure to head on over to our midseason premiere guide. For some information on another hot singing competition returning to television, American Idol, check out the latest news which says that the series will be making one big change when it returns.
