John Hockenberry, an Emmy and Peabody award-winning journalist, is the latest to face allegations of sexual misconduct.
Former NBC, ABC and NPR journalist John Hockenberry has become the latest media figure to face accusations of sexual misconduct.
Hockenberry, 61, an Emmy and Peabody award winner who most recently hosted a radio show in New York City, is accused by author Suki Kim of sending her suggestive emails and making unwanted sexual advances toward other women.
In an article published Friday, Kim writes in New York magazine that at least nine women have accused Hockenberry of inappropriate behavior.
The journalist, who is married with five children, responded Saturday.
“It horrifies me that I made the talented and driven people I worked with feel uncomfortable, and that the stress around putting together a great show was made worse by my behavior,” Hockenberry said in a statement.
"It horrifies me that I made the talented and driven people I worked with feel uncomfortable, and that the stress around putting together a great show was made worse by my behavior.”
Kim, a South Korea-born journalist, is perhaps best known as the author of, “Without You, There Is No Us: Undercover Among the Sons of North Korea’s Elite.”
She writes that she met Hockenberry in December 2014 when she was a guest on WNYC’s “The Takeaway,” which Hockenberry hosted.
Kim claims that after her appearance on the program, Hockenberry sent her a series of emails that made her feel uncomfortable. She says Hockenberry asked for her home address and sent one message with the subject line: "Need another dose of you."
In the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal that has led to sexual misconduct claims against numerous prominent men in entertainment, media, politics, business and sports, Kim writes that she decided to ask Hockenberry’s former colleages if they were ever uncomfortable with him.
Three women responded that his behavior allegedly included unwanted kisses, inappropriate sexual remarks and unwanted touching.
“You shouldn’t stay here just as a ‘diversity hire,’ ” he allegedly told one woman, according to Kim. “And you should go lose weight.”
"Having to deal with my own physical limitations has given me an understanding of powerlessness, and I should have been more aware of how the power I wielded over others, coupled with inappropriate comments and communications, could be construed. I have no excuses," said Hockenberry, who uses a wheelchair since being paralyzed from the waist down from an accident in 1976.
New York Public Radio CEO and President Laura Walker declined to comment on the accusations. A statement from "The Takeaway" said the show was disturbed by the report and takes the allegations very seriously. Hockenberry left the show in August.
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