Austrian broadcaster head resigns after sexual harassment claims
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Director-general of the Austrian broadcasting company ORF Roland Weissmann attends a press conference in Vienna, Austria, on Dec 16, 2025.
PHOTO: REUTERS
VIENNA – Austrian public broadcaster ORF announced on March 9 that its director was stepping down from his post following sexual harassment accusations by a female employee.
The resignation of Mr Roland Weissmann comes two months before the Austrian broadcaster hosts the 2026 edition of Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna in May.
Mr Weissmann, 57, was resigning from his post “with immediate effect”, the broadcaster’s board announced in a press release on March 9.
In recent days, an ORF employee has made sexual misconduct accusations against Mr Weissmann, who denies wrongdoing, it added.
The allegations against the director general “require a swift and transparent investigation”, the ORF statement said.
Mr Weissmann’s lawyer, Mr Oliver Scherbaum, announced legal action against the allegations he said “have not been clarified in any way”.
“To date, my client has not been provided with the exact facts of the case as presented by the employee. Nevertheless, in order to avert damage to the company, he... resigned from his position... on Sunday,” Mr Scherbaum said in a press release.
“The media coverage of these allegations... represents a completely inappropriate and excessive reaction,” he said, adding that the move comes just months “before the upcoming election of the ORF’s director-general”.
The 2026 Eurovision Song Contest takes place from May 12 to 16 in Vienna after Austrian artist Johannes Pietsch won the 2025 edition in Basel, Switzerland. AFP
