A.J. Calloway is leaving Extra following an internal investigation of sexual misconduct allegations made against him.
“The Company has investigated the claims made into Mr. Calloway’s conduct and he and the Company have mutually agreed to part ways,” a Warner Bros. rep said in a statement to Deadline.
Calloway was suspended in February while the investigation was underway. He had been employed there since 2005.
Writer Sil Lai Abrams accused Calloway of sexual assault in June 2018. The incident allegedly occurred in 2006, and Calloway was arrested after Abrams filed a report. The charges were eventually dropped. Warner Bros. didn’t get involved until January 2019, when two more women claimed Calloway was sexually abusive toward them in a Daily Beast expose.
"Upon becoming aware of allegations of sexual misconduct against AJ 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," the company said at the time. "To date, we have found nothing to suggest that Mr. Calloway has ever engaged in workplace misconduct."
The 106 & Park veteran has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
“As I have maintained from the beginning, these allegations are not true,” he said in February. “When I was first notified about these allegations by law enforcement more than a decade ago, I fully cooperated from the beginning and the case was dismissed.”
Abrams is disappointed it took so long for Calloway to be held accountable. The decision was announced a day after she tweeted WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey about the matter.
“It shouldn’t have taken various news stories and the trickling out of six different accusations of rape and sexual assault by Mr. Calloway over a year and a half for the company to take a stand,” she told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement. “Had I not tweeted about Mr. Stankey, I doubt Warner Bros. would have taken the initiative to let my lawyer know the outcome of the investigation. It should not be incumbent upon survivors to force companies to do the right thing.”
Still, she is satisfied with the outcome.
“Though it took to longer than it should have, the investigation apparently came to the right conclusion," Abrams continued. "If survivors have the strength to fight, know that there is value in staying the course.”
Calloway has not addressed the decision publicly.