MacPherson, CEO of Hipgnosis Songs Group, SONG's publishing arm, was sued on Wednesday (4 October) in a Los Angeles court by Sara Lewis, who alleged she "endured an onslaught of unwanted sexual advances" from him while she worked at Chrysalis Music during the mid-2000s.
The lawsuit, which was first reported by Rolling Stone, claims the harassment turned into "a traumatic sexual assault" during a 2005 business trip and that she was "blacklisted" after she reported the abuse.
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A spokesperson for Hipgnosis Songs, which is not named in the lawsuit or accused of any wrongdoing, said the allegations date almost 20 years ago and that the trust has a policy of "zero tolerance to harassment or abuse".
"While these historic allegations relate to a period 15 years before Hipgnosis was founded, Kenny MacPherson was placed on leave of absence from Hipgnosis Songs Group as soon as it became aware of the allegations," they said. "Our rigorous procedures for dealing with such matters have commenced."
In a statement to Rolling Stone, MacPherson's attorney said: "We vehemently deny all allegations made against Mr. MacPherson in Ms. Lewis' unverified complaint filed yesterday regarding claims alleged to have occurred almost 20 years ago."
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MacPherson joined Chrysalis Music in 2001 as president. After music publisher BMG acquired Chrysalis in 2010, he left to set up Big Deal Music, which was acquired by Hipgnosis in 2020.
The lawsuit and MacPherson's suspension follows the resignation of SONG's chair Andrew Sutch last week and comes as the trust prepares to give shareholders the chance to vote on its future at a continuation vote on 26 October.