A.J. Calloway has been suspended from his hosting job with Extra as new allegations of sexual misconduct against him are investigated. Here's a statement shared by producer Warner Bros. Television:
Upon becoming aware of allegations of sexual misconduct against A.J. Calloway, we began an internal review to determine whether there had been any misconduct by Mr. Calloway on Extra and whether any employee of the show had been the victim of any such misconduct. To date, we have found nothing to suggest that Mr. Calloway has ever engaged in workplace misconduct. In light of additional allegations brought to our attention, we are expanding our ongoing inquiries, and Mr. Calloway has been suspended pending further review. We take such allegations very seriously and are committed to doing everything we can to ensure a safe and inclusive workplace for all of our employees.
That statement from Warner Bros. Television was shared with The Hollywood Reporter. The outlet also released a response to A.J. Calloway's suspension from his attorney, Lisa E. Davis:
Mr. Calloway maintains that these unsubstantiated allegations are patently false. He vehemently denies that he ever assaulted anyone and looks forward to clearing his name.
The suspension is happening after two more women came forward with their stories in a recent report by The Daily Beast. One of the women said she reported her claim to the police in December. The Hollywood Reporter had shared a story back in June from Sil Lai Abrams, who accused A.J. Calloway of sexual assault in 2006. Per that story, he was arrested but his case was dismissed on procedural grounds.
Since then, Sil Lai Abrams told The Daily Beast she was contacted by other women with sexual misconduct allegations against A.J. Calloway. She put the count at 10 women, including herself. Two other women shared stories with the news site, but they wished to remain anonymous. As Abrams told The Daily Beast:
I spoke to these women, and they’re terrified of coming forward...So when I was writing my Huffington Post piece about the impact coming forward has had on my life, I emailed Blake Bryant, the head of publicity at Warner Bros. Television—the same guy who Kim Masters reached out to when she was working on her piece for The Hollywood Reporter—asking him why they haven’t issued any statements. I let him know that I’d spoken with multiple women and there are multiple alleged victims of A.J. I was thinking, Warner Bros. has got to say something, I mean, what are they going to do? I got no response.
Now there is a response from Warner Bros. Television, suspending A.J. Calloway from Extra while they investigate. Calloway could be reinstated in his job, pending the investigation results.
This is just the latest report of a TV/film star being suspended (and in some cases fired) for specific allegations. From The Flash showrunner to The Chew co-host, and MTV's Catfish to Fox News -- and even CBS's CEO Les Moonves -- stories keep coming out and investigations usually follow. In the case of Chris Hardwick, AMC suspended then reinstated him after reviewing the information they had available.
Extra fans will have to wait and see what happens with this investigation. A.J. Calloway has co-hosted Extra since 2008 and, along with the show, has won two Emmy awards for Outstanding Entertainment News Program. According to his Extra bio, in his spare time, he's "a laid-back guy who enjoys traveling and relaxing on the beach with his wife and three children."
