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Neil deGrasse Tyson to keep job at American Museum of Natural History after misconduct probe

The celebrity astrophysicist had been accused by three women of misconduct, unwanted sexual advances and assault.
Image: Neil DeGrasse Tyson appears on a panel in Pasadena, California, in 2014.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson will keep his job at the American Museum of Natural History after an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct was completed, museum officials said.Richard Shotwell / Invision / AP file

Celebrity astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson will keep his job at the American Museum of Natural History's Hayden Planetarium after it completed an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct, the museum said in a statement Saturday.

The museum did not provide details of the investigation, saying it was a “confidential personnel matter."

"There will be no further statements by the Museum," the statement added.

Tyson, who directs the planetarium and hosts National Geographic Channel shows “StarTalk” and “Cosmos,” faced allegations last year from three women of misconduct, unwanted sexual advances and assault on the website Patheos.

Fox, which owns National Geographic, shelved the shows while it probed the allegations, according to Variety. In March, the network said it had completed that investigation and was “committed to finding an air date” for "Cosmos,” Variety reported.

“StarTalk” was set to return in April, according to the site.

Tyson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday.

In a Facebook post last year, Tyson apologized to one of the accusers, a professor of physics and astronomy who had described his behavior as “creepy” and disrespectful of “female bodily autonomy.”

Tyson also acknowledged a 2018 encounter with a former production assistant who accused him of unwanted advances, saying he “apologized profusely” to her at the time.

The production assistant quit her job after the incident, according to Patheos.

A third woman accused Tyson of drugging and raping her in 1984, when they were both graduate students at the University of Texas at Austin.

Tyson denied those allegations, saying they came “from an assumption of what happened to her during a night that she cannot remember.”