Andy Signore, the creator of the popular series Honest Trailers, has been suspended from the ScreenJunkies YouTube channel, after several women came forward with allegations of sexual abuse against him.
ScreenJunkies owner Defy Media made the decision to suspend Signore after two women who had been associated with the company came forward on social media, accusing him of using his position of power to prey on women.
Emma Bowers made Twitter post detailing her allegations against Signore, saying that he had messaged her to tell her that he was “jacking it” to pictures of her, and invited her over so that he could do it in person.
Anyway, here’s the whole story about how the @screenjunkies guy wanted to jack off in front of me pic.twitter.com/wpKlXT2fgN
— How to Blow Up a Mako Reactor (@hyenasandgin) October 6, 2017
Bowers said that she felt moved to speak up after allegations of abuse against major Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein came to light. “It’s not just Weinstein”, she wrote, saying that women are routinely taken advantage of in the entertainment industry.
A second accuser, April Dawn, was a guest on the ScreenJunkies series Movie Fights, and said that Signore had “tried to sexually assault me on multiple occasions”, attempting to force “sex toys” on her an offering her a job in exchange for sexual favours.
Dawn also said that she had complained to the ScreenJunkies HR department, with little success, and that Signore threatened to have her boyfriend (a ScreenJunkies engineer) fired if she went public with her accusations.
https://twitter.com/April13Dawn/status/916321623279493120
After Bowers and Dawn went public, others began to come forward, sharing stories and screengrabs of their alleged conversations with Signore.
Overnight, Defy Media made a statement confirming that Signore has been suspended pending an investigation, saying:
“We have been conducting a thorough investigation into allegations made against Andy Signore and are preparing to respond to those allegations and take appropriate action. Given the additional statements that were made today, we feel it is necessary to suspend Andy’s employment while we continue our investigation. We will take all necessary action once the investigation is fully complete.”
Honest Trailers, famous for its cynical, realistic takes on blockbuster movie previews, has racked up hundreds of millions of views since launching in 2012, and has enlisted major Hollywood stars like Ryan Reynolds to participate.
Signore’s future at ScreenJunkies is currently unclear.
