While the second season of Fox’s Cosmos series hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson was meant to air in early March, the network has now postponed the premiere while it’s investigating allegations of sexual misconduct being leveled against the noted astrophysicist.
Deadline reports Fox’s ongoing investigation will likely postpone the March 3 premiere date for Cosmos, the 2014 documentary show continuing Carl Sagan’s ‘80s PBS series. The report says, “In addition to Cosmos, Tyson hosts StarTalk, also on Nat Geo, which was pulled off the air after the allegations surfaced and continues to be benched.”
In a statement to the outlet from their November report, Cosmos producers expressed that the very premise of the show necessitated that the claims against Tyson be taken seriously:
“The credo at the heart of Cosmos is to follow the evidence wherever it leads. The producers of Cosmos can do no less in this situation. We are committed to a thorough investigation of this matter and to act accordingly as soon as it is concluded.”
So far, four different women have accused Tyson of impropriety. Tchiya Amet El Maat, a former classmate of Tyson’s who studied with him at UT Austin, alleges that he drugged and raped her in 1984. Professor Katelyn Allers has claimed that Tyson touched her in ways that made her uncomfortable at a public event, and Ashley Watson, Tyson’s Cosmos assistant, claims that he made overtly sexual advances towards her that led to her quitting her job.
Tyson has denied ever raping El Matt, and insisted that the incidents with Allers and Watson were merely misunderstandings. The fourth and most recent of Tyson’s alleged untoward behaviour came to light after Fox and National Geographic had already announced their plans to launch an investigation back in November.