Amazon’s Other Jeff Under Spotlight at Studios

After the head of Amazon Studios, Roy Price, resigned in October amid a sexual harassment allegation, Amazon Senior Vice President Jeff Blackburn addressed several hundred Studios staff members at an all-hands meeting in Hollywood’s Cinerama Dome. Mr. Blackburn didn’t elaborate on the circumstances surrounding Mr. Price’s exit, according to four people who attended the meeting. Instead, Mr. Blackburn sought to cast the situation as a fresh start for an organization already undertaking a bold new strategy.

The lack of candor frustrated some employees, and questions persist about whether Amazon and Mr. Blackburn mishandled an allegation first raised in an internal complaint in 2015. By failing to explain the two-year wait, six current and former Studios employees said, Mr. Blackburn left the impression that the company only took action on Mr. Price because the Harvey Weinstein scandal erupted and Mr. Price’s accuser elected to publicly air her story.