The director general of Austrian national broadcaster ORF, which in two months will host the Eurovision Song Contest, has quit over a woman’s sexual harassment allegations, which he denies, ORF said on Monday.
In a statement announcing that Roland Weissmann, 57, had stepped down “with immediate effect”, ORF thanked him for his 30 years at the company and said the claim needed to be investigated quickly and transparently.
“In recent days, an ORF employee has made sexual harassment allegations against the Director General. Roland Weissmann denies these allegations,” the broadcaster said.
Soon afterwards Weissmann’s lawyer Oliver Scherbaum issued a statement saying ORF’s Foundation Council, which acts much like a supervisory board, had informed Weissmann about the allegations relating to the beginning of his tenure in 2022 and given him a matter of days to step down.
Weissmann still has not been given the full details of the allegations being made against him, the statement said.
“Nevertheless, in order to avoid harm to the company, he was prepared to make far-reaching concessions and therefore resigned as director general with immediate effect,” it said.
His lawyer said ORF’s announcement to the media of the allegations before they have been fully investigated was excessive and disproportionate and violated Weissmann’s personal rights, adding that he would be taking legal action.
The head of ORF radio, Ingrid Thurnher, a veteran reporter and presenter, will take over as director general on an interim basis, the ORF statement said.
Weissmann headed ORF for four years. The broadcaster was due to decide later this year whether he would get a second five-year term or a new director general would be appointed.
Austria beat Israel along with bookies’ favourites Sweden to triumph at the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest, thanks to a spectacular performance of “Wasted Love” by singer JJ.
The 24-year-old Austrian-Filipino artist born Johannes Pietsch wowed viewers with his operatic voice and dramatic staging at last year’s contest held in Basel, Switzerland.
Previous Austrian wins include drag artist Conchita Wurst in 2014 with “Rise Like A Phoenix”, and 1966’s Udo Jurgens with “Merci Cherie”.
This year’s contest’s semi-finals will take place on May 12 and 14, with the final taking place in Vienna on May 16.
The final and semi-finals will be broadcast live on BBC One and iPlayer, as well as BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds.
