On Wednesday, amid allegations of misconduct and sexual assault including several criminal charges, he resigned from the company he founded in college.
A 27-year-old model and artist told the Times she and Price had a three-month romance in early 2021 that ended, she alleged, when Price raped her. Price, 38, has denied the allegations, while police in Palm Springs, Calif., told the Times that they had referred the case to local prosecutors, recommending a charge of rape of a drugged victim.
The Times detailed allegations of physical and sexual abuse spanning a decade from five other women, including four who spoke on the record. In a statement posted to his Twitter account Wednesday, Price said he was leaving Gravity Payments to “focus full-time on fighting false accusations made against me.” Neither Price nor Gravity Payments responded to CNN Business’ requests for comment.
Price also tweeted another statement on Wednesday detailing the benefits and perks he has provided to his employees, like unlimited paid time off and 401(k) match programs.
Previous abuse allegations
The Times story alleged that Price was actively pursuing women online “who say he hurt them, both physically and emotionally,” while tweeting messages like “A male president was so angry he lost that he incited a mob against the U.S. Capitol. I never want to hear again that women would be ‘too emotional’ to be president.”
In 2015, the same year he rose to prominence, Price’s ex-wife Kristie Colón said in a TEDx Talk recorded at the University of Kentucky that her ex-husband had beaten and waterboarded her, as the New York Times piece notes. Price has also denied those allegations.
In the end, it may not even have been Price who was advocating for his employees and women on Twitter. The New York Times reports he hired a ghostwriter, Mike Rosenberg, a former real estate writer, to write much of his social media content.
