Warner Bros. CEO apologizes to staff

Published 12:00 am Saturday, March 9, 2019

Warner Bros. Chairman and Chief Executive Kevin Tsujihara on Friday apologized to staff at the TV and film studio, referring to embarrassing “mistakes in my personal life” after a report revealed he had an affair with an actress who was later cast in Warner Bros. movies.

The Burbank studio’s parent company, AT&T Inc.-owned WarnerMedia, said Wednesday it would investigate the matter after the Hollywood Reporter published an extensive and detailed story based partly on texts between actress Charlotte Kirk and Tsujihara, 54.

Kirk, who is British and in her 20s, eventually appeared in small roles in two Warner Bros. movies: the 2018 female-focused franchise reboot “Ocean’s 8” and 2016’s romantic comedy “How to Be Single.”

The scandal occurs at a pivotal time for WarnerMedia, which recently expanded Tsujihara’s duties to include oversight of animation.

AT&T took over the company formerly known as Time Warner Inc. last year, and has recently made its mark on the company by making major changes at HBO and Turner.

The company on Monday tapped former NBC chief Bob Greenblatt to run HBO and Turner networks TNT and TBS.

HBO chief Richard Plepler and Turner President David Levy announced their departures late last month amid the shakeup.

WarnerMedia previously looked into allegations of inappropriate behavior by Tsujihara and did not turn up anything amiss, the company said Wednesday.

Tsujihara has not been accused of harassment, but appeared to exhibit poor judgment by engaging in an extramarital affair with a then-21-year-old actress.

The published texts raised fresh questions about how WarnerMedia had handled the matter and whether Tsujihara had disclosed the text messages to the company’s outside lawyers who were investigating the claims.

Such investigations are typical following accusations of misconduct.

Some experts have questioned the thoroughness of such probes.

The texts appeared to provide a rare window into Hollywood’s infamous “casting couch” culture in which sex is exchanged for a shot at fame.

“I don’t usually call about casting about these types of roles,” Tsujihara wrote to Kirk in response to an inquiry about a television show, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Tsujihara was named chief executive of Warner Bros. in 2013.