Lawyers pay for hyping sex allegations against Hollywood execs

Interesting twist to a legal and Hollywood story from last year. Aspiring actor Michael Egan claimed that he had been sexually abused as a teenager by multiple Hollywood executives, and he found lawyers to file lawsuits for him in Hawaii. The case quickly fell apart, Egan was indicted on unrelated charges, and the suits were dropped, but two of the accused executives — former NBC president Garth Ancier and former Disney executive David A. Neuman — filed suit against Egan and his lawyers. Now the lawyers have apologized for ever going public with the sex charges — and have paid seven-figure settlements to both executives, according to The Wrap.

“Had I known what I learned after filing the lawsuits, I would never have filed these claims against you,” attorney Jeff Herman says in letter obtained by TheWrap….

“As you know, I withdrew from representing Mr. Egan two months after filing the complaints. Based on what I know now, I believe that I participated in making what I now know to be untrue and proveably false allegations against you.

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In a separate statement, attorney Mark Gallagher wrote: “I sincerely apologize to Mr. David Neuman for my part in bringing a lawsuit against him on behalf of my former client Michael Egan. Unfortunately, I now do not believe that the allegations in the lawsuit were true and accurate, I deeply regret the unjustified pain, suffering and significant damage the lawsuit and publicity has caused Mr. Neuman and his family, friends, and colleagues.” Gallagher is based in Hawaii where the lawsuits were filed.

Photo of Egan and Herman: L.A. Ross/The Wrap