Viacom's MTV (DStv 130) has abruptly halted production on its Catfish series and suspended presenter Nev Schulman following allegations of sexual misconduct.
"We take these allegations very seriously," says MTV said 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."
Since 2012 Catfish with Yaniv "Nev" Schulman and Max Joseph seek out the real identities of people who pretend to be other people online as they "fish" for victims who fall for their deceptive alter ego online romances and are conned out of money. Nev Schulman is also an executive producer of Catfish.
It's not clear what the nature of the sexual misconduct allegations against Nev Schulman are, but it surfaced in two YouTube videos earlier this week that were posted by a woman who appeared on Catfish 3 years ago.
Nev Schulman in a statement says "the behaviour 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".
"I have always been transparent about my life and would always take responsibility for my actions – but these claims are false."
