SEXUALLY CHARGED CLAIMS: Richard Nanula
A FORMER Disney executive has resigned from his current role following accusations from a colleague of sexual harassment and explicit photographs appeared of him on a porn website.
Harvard-educated Richard Nanula is currently a chairman of the board of Miramax and works at Colony Capita, and has previously held top jobs at Disney and biotech firm Amgen.
According to Variety - reported on June 26 - website TheDirty.com published photos it claimed showed Nanula involved in sexual acts with a porn star, and is believed the images have played a part in the businessman recently taking a leave of absence.
The photos have since been taken down, but remained viewable at another site called PornNewsToday.com.
"Richard Nanula has taken a leave of absence from Colony and Miramax for personal reasons," Lisa Baker, a publicist with Owen Blicksilver PR, which represents Colony, told Variety.
The New York Post is reporting that a sexual harassment suit may also be a reason for Nanula’s decision and that the leave of absence is actually a permanent vacation.
However, Colony Capital failed to substantiate the Post’s tip that Nanula has resigned.
A former Colony paralegal named Stephanie Shaw, claims Nanula groped her buttocks in an "unwelcome, extreme, and offensive" way back in early 2012 and filed suit in a Los Angeles court.
The sexual harassment issue is now in binding arbitration, in which Shaw is seeking unspecified damages.