Does a producer's personal commentary about the #MeToo movement undermine his ability to work on a documentary about the issue?
Here's the situation:
The production company 123 Films was invited to make an impartial public affairs documentary about the #MeToo movement for PBS to distribute nationally. The documentary was to focus on different industries—media, education, fashion, military, among others—that were rocked by allegations of sexual assault and harassment.
While the documentary was being filmed, an associate producer working on the project posted a message on his personal Facebook page about his brother having been accused of sexual harassment in college. He ended the post by criticizing some of the women involved in the #MeToo movement.
When the executive producer saw the post, he immediately removed the associate producer from helping any further with the documentary for fear it would be seen as a conflict of interest and put the production company’s reputation at risk. He also promptly notified PBS.