He created Mad Men, the show responsible for the recent popularity of mid-century modern furniture.
He created Mad Men, the show responsible for the recent popularity of mid-century modern furniture. Alberto E. Rodriguez / getty

Matthew Weiner was due at Town Hall for a conversation with the novelist Maria Semple next Monday, November 13th. Now he's not.

Town Hall executive director Wier Harman offers the following explanation:

The event was cancelled by Town Hall Seattle when it became clear the program as conceived—a conversation between two respected artists and entertainment industry veterans about television, novels, creativity, and commerce—would not be possible, or responsible, in light of recent reporting.

The ambiguity of those final words leaves me to speculate that the "recent reporting" Harman is referring to here involves the sexual harassment allegations that Mad Men writer Kater Gordon leveled at Weiner yesterday.

The accusations were first reported in The Information. Here they are from The Daily Beast:

According to Gordon, Weiner told her late one night that she “owed it to him to let him see her naked,” as the article from The Information puts it. “I knew immediately when he crossed the boundary that it was wrong,” Gordon said. One year later, she was let go from the show, prompting a 2009 Gawker headline that asked, “Why Did Matthew Weiner Fire Mad Men’s Kater Gordon?” and proceeded to speculate about misconduct.

Weiner denies the allegations.

Gordon has since launched a nonprofit called Modern Alliance, which exists to serve victims of sexual harassment.