Neil deGrasse Tyson's StarTalk Gets Pulled Amid Sexual Misconduct Allegations

StarTalk is taking an unscheduled break on Nat Geo amid sexual misconduct allegations against the show's host, Neil deGrasse Tyson.

"We chose to hold new episodes of StarTalk until the investigation is completed," Nat Geo confirmed to TV Guide. StarTalk has aired only three episodes of its 20-episode fifth season, with the most recent installment airing on Nov. 26.

The latest allegations against Tyson surfaced in December, when Patheos published the reports by two women who accused the astrophysicist of inappropriate behavior: Bucknell University's Dr. Katelyn N. Allers said Tyson "felt her up" her at an event in 2009, and Tyson's former assistant, Ashley Watson, said he made repeated inappropriate sexual advances toward her.

Tyson denied the allegations via Facebook last year and said he welcomed an investigation to clear his name. "In any claim, evidence matters. Evidence always matters. But what happens when it's just one person's word against another's, and the stories don't agree?" he wrote. "That's when people tend to pass judgment on who is more credible than whom. And that's when an impartial investigation can best serve the truth - and would have my full cooperation to do so."

StarTalk is not the only show that may be affected by the investigation into the claims against Tyson; the next season of Cosmos: Possible Worlds, which is narrated by Tyson and shows him on screen throughout the series, is set to premiere on Fox on Sunday, March 3 before its Nat Geo launch on Monday, March 4. There's no word yet on whether Cosmos will launch as planned, but given the tight timeframe, it would be impossible to reshoot and re-edit the series with a new host before the premiere date. According to Nat Geo, the show is set to be broadcast in 172 countries and was recorded in 43 languages.

The news was first reported by Variety.