French TV pulls talent show after abuse claims against judge

PARIS: A French television channel pulled a hit talent show Thursday on which Canadian producer Gilbert Rozon is a judge after he was accused of sexual assault and harassment.

Rozon stepped down as boss of the Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal Wednesday after a comedian publicly accused him of being an "aggressor" following allegations from a number of women.

Montreal police have opened an investigation into an alleged sexual aggression involving Rozon that took place in Paris in 1994, Radio Canada reported.

The M6 channel said it was suspending "France´s Got Talent" -- which was due to air next week -- "without judging the truth" of the accusations against Rozon, who acts as the Simon Cowell figure on the show´s panel of judges.

The 62-year-old impresario is the latest powerful male figure to be caught in the fallout from the Harvey Weinstein scandal, with the Hollywood mogul accused of decades of sexual abuse and harassment.

"Shaken by the allegations against me, I want to dedicate all my time to review the matter," Rozon wrote on Facebook.

"To all those who I may have offended in my life, I´m sincerely sorry."

An M6 spokesman told AFP that the show had not been scrapped. "Its broadcast has been suspended but it will return later," he said.