‘Catfish’ suspended by MTV amid Nev Schulman sexual misconduct accusations

The man behind the “Catfish” film and TV series has reportedly been felled by accusation of sexual misconduct.

MTV has put “Catfish: The TV Show” on hiatus while it investigates accusation that host and executive producer Nev Schulman engaged in sexual misconduct against a woman on the show.

“We take these allegations very seriously,” an MTV spokesperson told the Daily Beast in a statement. “We’re working with Critical Content, our third party production company, to conduct a thorough investigation, and we’ve put a pause on shooting until the investigation is completed.”

Mr. Schulman denies wrongdoing.

The misconduct claims, according to the Daily Beast, center around a woman named Ayissha Morgan, who was on the show in 2015.

The “Catfish” TV show features Mr. Schulman and co-host Max Joseph helping its guests determine whether the people with they are conversing with and/or courting online are accurately representing themselves. It grew out of a documentary film, also titled “Catfish,” in which Mr. Schulman was the victim of such an online prankster. The term “catfish” has become slang for internet courtship hoaxing.

But this was IRL misconduct, according to the Daily Beast.

In a series of YouTube videos released in the past week, Ms. Morgan, who is a lesbian, accuses Mr. Schulman of propositioning her and sexually harassing her throughout her appearance on the show, saying she needed to “reevaluate” her sexuality.

She also said a female production assistant got her drunk and took advantage of her.

Mr. Schulman’s publicist gave a statement to the Daily Beast in which the producer-host called the charges false.

“The behavior described in this video did not happen and I’m fortunate that there are a number of former colleagues who were present during this time period who are willing to speak up with the truth,” he said. “I have always been transparent about my life and would always take responsibility for my actions — but these claims are false.”