‘The Four’ Judge Charlie Walk Fired Amid Sexual Misconduct Allegations

Charlie Walk, Meghan Trainor, Sean 'Diddy' Combs, and DJ Khaled in “The Four”
FOX
Charlie Walk, Meghan Trainor, Sean “Diddy” Combs and DJ Khaled in “The Four”

UPDATE:

Charlie Walk, one of the judges from Fox’s singing competition show, The Four: Battle for Stardom, has been fired following claims of sexual misconduct. He will not appear on the live finale set to air February 8 but will appear on Thursday’s (February 1) pre-taped episode, according to Deadline.

Universal Music Group also placed the Republic Records head honcho on leave. This news comes after two women came forward with claims Walk sexually harassment them at work.

ORIGINAL STORY:

Another Hollywood hotshot is in hot water over sexual misconduct allegations: Charlie Walk, one of the judges of Fox’s new reality show, The Four.

According to Deadline, the accusations against Walk came from a former Sony coworker identified as Tristan Coopersmith, who claims the TV star used inappropriate language, groped her at work events, and tried to force himself on her.

Coopersmith, founder of LifeLab, came forward with the claims in an online letter addressed to Walk. In the post, she goes into detail about how he both helped her career, and made her live miserable.

This news could not come at a worse time for the Republic Records executive, who is in the final weeks of filming The Four‘s first season. He was quick to respond to the startling claims stating, “It is very upsetting to learn of this untrue allegation made by someone who worked with me 15 years ago, without incident.”

Walk continued, “There has never been a single HR claim against me at any time during my 25-plus year career, spanning three major companies. I have consistently been a supporter of the women’s movement and this is the first time I have ever heard of this or any other allegation—and it is false.”

Meanwhile, network execs are feeling the heat, as the grand prize of the singing competition includes a recording contract with Walk’s label. Both Fox and Universal Music—the parent company of Walk’s Republic Records—made statements regarding the allegations. Of the music producer, Universal says, “While it appears this blog post relates to the period prior to Mr. Walk’s appointment to his position at Republic Records, we take the allegations very seriously and intend to conduct a full and complete review of this matter.”

As for The Four, Fox plans to look into the accusations, but no word has been said on whether production on the remaining episodes will halt or if the grand prize will change. “We have only recently learned of these past allegations regarding Mr. Walk,” said the network. “We are currently reviewing this matter and are committed to fostering a safe environment on all of our shows.”