Mike Fleissis speaking out after two contestants on his reality series made headlines for their alleged sexual misconduct.
Fleiss, who createdThe Bachelorfranchise and ABC’s latest show The Proposal, tweeted Sunday morning that he is “horrified” about the accusations surfaced about two of the men on his shows.
“For the record, I am horrified that any of these abusive a–holes are on our shows,” said Fleiss.
He added, “We are working very hard to find ways to do better.”
Brian To/FilmMagic
In an exclusive statement to PEOPLE, ABC and Warner Horizon Productions said they take the allegations against Friday “very seriously.”
Byron Cohen/ABC
“An allegation has been made against a contestant on next week’s episode ofThe Proposal. While the accusation was not related to the contestant’s appearance on the program, we take it very seriously,” the statement read.
“ABC and the producers ofThe Proposalare pulling the episode while this matter is under review,” it continued, adding that Friday had been eliminated in the first round of the show.
Meshke wrote about her alleged experience in apublic Facebook poston Thursday. Initially, she did not name Friday but shared a photo of male contestants from the show and wrote that one of them “was directly responsible for my date rape.”
Friday did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment. On hearing of the allegations, ABC immediately pulled the pre-recorded episode ofThe Proposalin which Friday appeared.
Craig Sjodin/ABC
The cancellation came the same week after it was revealedBachelorettesuitor Lincoln Adim was convicted of indecent assault and battery for groping a woman on a cruise. The guilty verdict came on May 21, just days before the season premiered.
Adim alsoallegedly did not disclosethe charges to Warner Bros, the studio which produces the ABC reality show, at the time of his casting.
“No one onThe Bacheloretteproduction had any knowledge about the incident or charges when Lincoln Adim was cast, and he himself denied ever having engaged in or having been charged with any sexual misconduct,” the studio said in a statement.
source: people.com
