Catfish host and executive producer Nev Schulman is currently being investigated for sexual misconduct. The Daily Beast reports that MTV has temporarily halted production on the show. “We’re working with Critical Content, our third party production company, to conduct a thorough investigation,” a spokesperson told the publication.
The show, named for the documentary of the same name, is dedicated to exposing the real people behind fake dating profiles. Schulman, along with co-host Max Joseph, helps hopeful romantics learn the truth behind their internet crushes. Schulman has denied any wrongdoing. “I have always been transparent about my life and would always take responsibility for my actions—but these claims are false,” Schulman told The Daily Beast.
Schulman’s past transparency includes a story about the time he punched a woman in the face. In his book, In Real Life: Love, Lies & Identity in the Digital Age, Schulman writes that it was out of “self-defense” — and also because he hadn’t realized that this “short, stocky, crew-cut-styled individual” was a woman. The woman he attacked has a very different account of the events that night. Although the assault took place in 2006, Schulman recounted it as a quirky anecdote in 2014 — plenty of time for MTV to have rethought its hosting decisions in the meantime.