The public television series “Poetry in America” lost its main distributor this week due to concerns about its host’s connection to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
A spokesperson for the Public Broadcasting Service told GBH News on Wednesday that the nonprofit has stopped distributing the TV series hosted and created by Elisa New, a Harvard professor. New is the wife of former Harvard University President Larry Summers, who had a close connection with Epstein and went on leave from his work at Harvard amid an internal review at the university.
“PBS is no longer distributing the program and it has been removed from our digital platforms,’’ the spokesperson said.
The decision follows last month’s release of emails between New and Epstein that were part of a larger trove of documents disclosed by a House congressional committee following pressure from Democrats and Republicans. In the emails, written between 2014 and 2018, New thanked Epstein for supporting her work, including “Poetry in America,” which had been distributed by PBS to stations nationwide.
A spokesperson for the board of Verse Video Education, the nonprofit that created the poetry series, told GBH News that board members learned about the PBS decision on Monday. The group removed information about the program’s connection to PBS on Wednesday afternoon, after a GBH reporter reached out for comment.
“PBS’s decision to stop distributing the Poetry in America series will require Verse Video Education to consider alternative distribution channels in the future,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “Poetry in America enables thousands to encounter and enjoy great poetry, and we remain committed to this mission.”
The spokeswoman said that board members had launched an investigation into the connection between New and Epstein, who died in prison in 2019.
“A number of recent public disclosures and questions prompted the Board of Directors of Verse Video Education/Poetry in America to engage an outside law firm to assist the organization in obtaining a full understanding of events that have transpired, including the breadth of internal and external communications during relevant periods,” the spokesperson said.
About the emails: Seeking a ‘gift’
The emails revealed a years-long connection between New and Epstein where she sought his advice and financial support for her projects, touting her work with WGBH and PBS.
The series was first distributed by the WGBH Educational Foundation in Boston, the umbrella organization that owns and operates GBH News and has a long history of distributing programs to public TV stations nationwide.
In a 2014 email, New told Epstein a $500,000 donation would be a “gift to Poetry in America.” She also wrote that the donation would allow her to “give me discretion over its disbursement to HarvardX and WGBH,” and allow her to supply “higher quality video to WGBH as a way also to cut their costs.”
In a 2015 email, with a subject line, “Poetry Update and Thank You,’’ New thanked Epstein for helping her obtain funding.
“My main employee has half of her salary paid with these funds, and the foundation of our collection for PBS LearningMedia is being made with this support,” she wrote. “This gift represented one of the most consequential shifts of the last year, allowing me (to) create content and launch projects this year that make future projects that much more likely.”
A Boston Globe investigation found New received $110,000 from Epstein.
In a statement released a few weeks ago, New said she regretted accepting money from Epstein.
“I wish to reiterate my profound regret over accepting a donation from Jeffrey Epstein and I am deeply sorry for maintaining contact with him,’’ she wrote. “After learning about the extent and horrific nature of his crimes and actions, I made a personal donation in 2019 to an organization actively involved in combating sex trafficking in an amount exceeding Mr. Epstein’s donation to my non-profit.”
Show’s earlier ties with GBH
A GBH spokesperson said the station cut its ties with New and the series about three years ago after learning about her connection to Epstein. GBH said the organization was “not aware of any Epstein financial contributions to the series.”
“Despite New’s guarantee that no Epstein money had been used to support this program, new GBH leadership decided we should terminate our work with her,” the spokesperson said.
New was the fundraiser and executive producer of the show, and GBH was hired to develop a national audience for the series, the organization said. That work ended in 2022 at the end of the third season, GBH said. Soon after, GBH completed some “freelance technical packaging for the show.” Last month, GBH deleted links to Poetry in America on its website.
A spokesman for New released a statement Tuesday, saying neither GBH nor PBS had received direct money from Epstein.
“The Epstein donation was used to create educational content, not to develop episodes for the series, and no money went directly to GBH, which had been the presenting station for the show,’’ the spokesperson said.
He clarified that the educational content was developed for one of New’s educational programs, not for the public broadcasters. However, the spokesperson contradicted GBH’s depiction of the separation.
“The assertion that GBH severed ties with Professor New out of concern about the Epstein donation is incorrect,’’ the spokesperson said. “Professor New severed ties with GBH after season 3, in 2022, when she decided that Arizona PBS should be the presenting station for Season 4.”
This story was reported by Jenifer McKim of GBH and edited by Eric Aasen with Connecticut Public. No members of GBH News’ executive leadership team were involved in the editing of this story, nor did they review it before it was published.
