Andy Signore Honest Trailers
Andy Signore at an event in 2016. Getty Images

Andy Signore, creator of the popular Honest Trailers series and senior VP of content for the Screen Junkies YouTube channel, has been fired by Defy Media after multiple women came forward to accuse him of sexual harassment and abuse.

"There is simply no justification for this egregious and intolerable behaviour," read a statement from Defy Media, which owns the channel, sent to The Hollywood Reporter. "In August, Defy's HR team was made aware of allegations made against Andy, at which time an investigation was launched.

"On Friday, new information became available and the scope and magnitude of his inappropriate actions became apparent.

"We are acting swiftly to address the concerns of the people affected, and that going forward, our community is free of harassment or discrimination of any kind."

Signore's accusers went public on social media late last week. On Thursday (5 October) Emma Bowers said that while working as an intern, her boss Signore said he masturbated to pictures of her and made an offer for her to go to his house he could "do it in person".

Bowers explained that the recent allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein prompted her to go public.

On Friday April Dawn, a Screen Junkies fan, revealed that she had filed a sexual harassment complaint against Signore with Defy Media two months ago.

Describing an incident that took place in 2015 when Screen Junkies flew her out to Los Angeles to appear in one of its series, she said Signore "took out sex toys and tried to force them in me, took pictures of me without my permission and promised a position at Screen Junkies for sexual favours".

On Friday, after the allegations were made public, Defy and Screen Junkies announced that Signore had been suspended. Two days later he was gone.

Honest Trailers is among the most popular and well-known series on YouTube. The trailers skewer classic films and new releases, and have racked up over one billion views since launching in 2012.

The success of Honest Trailers helped Screen Junkies create many new series, many of which included Signore as an on-screen presence.

The allegations against Signore are the latest in a line of controversies involving men in positions of power in the entertainment business.

Ain't It Cool News founder Harry Knowles took a break from the site after allegations were made against him, while former editor-in-chief of Birth.Movies.Death, Devin Faraci, stepped down from working at the Alamo Drafthouse cinema.

The accusations against Weinstein had the most impact however, given the producer has been behind numerous awards season contenders over the years.

The 65-year-old apologised after allegations were made public, saying in a statement: "I appreciate the way I've behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologise for it.

"My journey now will be to learn about myself and conquer my demons. I so respect all women and regret what happened."

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