Republic Records President Charlie Walk, who is also one of the judges on Fox‘s The Four singing competition, has been accused of sexual misconduct in an open letter by Life Lab founder Tristan Coopersmith.
On Monday, Coopersmith wrote about how her dreams of becoming a successful music executive were derailed after she worked for Walk as a 27-year-old.
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Coopersmith claimed Walk would tell her about his “fantasies” of having sex with her and she would have to remind him he was married with children. However, he was “relentless,” and would allegedly send her lewd messages with “truly vulgar words and ideas,” Coopersmith wrote.
He invited her to dinners “that in hindsight I had no business being at, but you did it so that you could put your hand on my thigh under the table, every time inching it closer and closer to my sacred place.”
During some of these dinners, Walk’s wife was right across the table, Coopersmith wrote.
“On multiple occasions your wife was sitting right across from us,” Coopersmith wrote. “And then there was that event at your swank pad when you actually cornered me and pushed me into your bedroom and onto your bed. The bed you shared with your wife… your wife who was in the room next door. You being drunk and me being 6 inches taller was my saving grace.”
After a year of working for Walk, Coopersmith said she finally told a colleague about his behavior, and he was not surprised.
“He told me that there was nothing I could do about it, but that he would help me coordinate a graceful exit if I wanted,” Coopersmith recalled. “I was paid to keep my mouth shut and my reputation intact. I’m ashamed of that piece but it’s a truthful part of my story. I took that dirty money and moved to LA.”
Coopersmith left the record industry. She worked for Walk when he was an executive at Sony Music, and is now a licensed psychotherapist.
Universal Music Group, the parent company of Republic, told Variety, “While it appears this blog post relates to the period prior to Mr. Walk’s appointment to his position at Republic Records, we take the allegations very seriously and intend to conduct a full and complete review of this matter.”
The last episodes of The Four are being taped this week.
Photo credit: Facebook / Charlie Walk
