Nev Schulman says he felt "so powerless" after sexual misconduct accusation
Nev Schulman says he's trying to pick up the pieces after he was accused of sexual misconduct by a participant on his MTV show, "Catfish." In May, Ayissha Morgan, who appeared on "Catfish" three years ago, appeared to be talking about Schulman when she said she on her YouTube channel that she'd been harassed.
But in June, MTV completed an internal investigation and found that the claims against Schulman were "not credible and without merit." "Catfish" has since resumed shooting. Morgan said claimed that the show's "main person" propositioned her several times, asked her if she was really a lesbian and told her he had a large penis.
"I'm doing much better now," Schulman told People. "It was a really difficult time for me, as much for my wife and my family. It was tough."
The "Catfish" host added that he has always tried to take responsibility for his actions.
"I've lived a number of different lives in my 33 years," he said. "I've experienced different things, I've been in different social circles and I've made mistakes. I've been very honest about those and I've been accountable, I've apologized and done everything I could to make right where I may have wronged. I've been judged for those mistakes — publicly and privately. That's tough and doesn't feel good but it's important and something I've made part of my life."
In particular, he pointed out that his show, "Catfish," is about coming clean.
"To be accused of something that I squarely did not do and to have the harsh judgment that followed and no way to counteract or do something in the moment to correct that was very difficult," he said. "It was frustrating. I just felt so powerless."
But he also said he felt "overwhelmed" by how supportive fans, past participants and his colleagues were.
"Luckily I had the amazing support of the fans of the show but also of my colleagues, the crew," he said. "Several people who had been on the show actually reached out to me and offered to speak up in my support if necessary. I'm just so thankful and grateful to everyone."
In May, MTV sent a statement to CBS News regarding the allegations saying, "We take these allegations very seriously. 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."
Schulman said in a statement at the time, "The behavior 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."
"Catfish: The TV Show" returns for Season 7 on Wednesday on MTV.
