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Visa suspends Morgan Freeman ads in wake of harassment allegations

By Kate Fitzgerald May 25, 2018, 1:53 p.m. EDT 1 Min Read

Visa has put its marketing and advertising featuring actor Morgan Freeman on hold following allegations of inappropriate behavior.

San Francisco-based Visa made the decision to suspend the ads following CNN’s report on Thursday that several women have accused Freeman of sexual harassment, according to Adage.com. CNN spoke to 16 women who described incidents on movie sets and at the Los Angeles-based production company Revelations Entertainment that Freeman, 80, co-founded.

“We are aware of the allegations that have been made against Mr. Freeman. At this point, Visa will be suspending our marketing in which the actor is featured,” Visa said in an emailed statement.

Freeman voices rider announcements for Vancouver, Canada-based transit system TransLink. Freeman’s TransLink announcements are part of an ad campaign with Visa Canada promoting Near Field Communication-based mobile payments, and both companies are suspending the messages, according to Adage.com.

Kate Fitzgerald

Senior Editor, Payments

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