Karen Avrich, an author, is the long-time partner and girlfriend of disgraced former MSNBC political analyst Mark Halperin. While Avrich and Halperin are not married, the two have been together for some time and have a child together, who was born in January 2017.
On October 26, 2017, five separate women accused Halperin, a journalist and author of Game Change, of sexual harassment.
According to various reports, the five accusers described instances in which Halperim propositioned an ABC employee for sex, and forcibly kissed and grabbed the breasts of another, among other allegations.
Halperin released a statement to CNN regarding the accusations:
“During this period, I did pursue relationships with women that I worked with, including some junior to me. I now understand from these accounts that my behavior was inappropriate and caused others pain. For that, I am deeply sorry and I apologize. Under the circumstances, I’m going to take a step back from my day-to-day work while I properly deal with this situation.”
As a writer, Halperin is the co-author of Game Change and Double Down: Game Change 2012. Both Halperin and John Heilemann were co-hosts of MSNBC and Bloomberg’s With All Due Respect, a political analysis show.
Halperin also produced and co-starred in Showtime’s The Circus: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth, following the presidential candidates behind the scenes of their campaigns in the 2016 United States Presidential Election.
After allegations were made about his workplace conduct, he was effectively suspended by NBC News in late October 2017.
