Hollywood chief forced to quit by staff mutiny

One of the most powerful female executives in Hollywood has resigned after what appears to have been a quiet mutiny by her staff, who accused her of sins ranging from heavy-handed management to lapses of decorum, including getting into a fist fight in a Los Angeles car park.

One of the most powerful female executives in Hollywood has resigned after what appears to have been a quiet mutiny by her staff, who accused her of sins ranging from heavy-handed management to lapses of decorum, including getting into a fist fight in a Los Angeles car park.

Mindy Herman, who has been head of E! Networks since 2000, said she was stepping down on the day The Los Angeles Times published an exposé of complaints about her conduct described in a dozen anonymous e-mails and letters from her underlings.The e-mails were mostly sent to Comcast, the cable distribution giant that is the majority owner of E! Networks. "It's desperation time here at E!," said one of the letters, which were also obtained by the newspaper. "I pray that you will not turn a deaf ear."

Executives at Comcast denied that Ms Herman, 42, had been fired. She will reportedly receive a severance payment of $20m (£11m) and has been asked to stay at E! Networks, which runs the E! Entertainment and Style channels, until a successor is found.