Hearst Corporation has cut ties with Scott Sassa, president of Hearst Entertainment, because of his alleged enjoyment of saucy sexts. According to The New York Post, Sassa had exchanged some NSFW texts with a stripper he met in Los Angeles. That stripper and her boyfriend then tried to blackmail Sassa, saying that they’d send the texts directly to his bosses if Sassa didn’t send some cash.

Sassa refused the demands, and bam! Frank Bennack Jr., David Carey and Michael Clinton all got a very interesting email. The Post reported that the execs called Sassa into a meeting on Tuesday and informed him he needed to resign. A source claimed that Hearst is giving Sassa a “large compensation package for him to go away for a long time.”

Hearst has already removed Sassa’s bio from the company website.

Neeraj Khemlani has been named chief creative officer of Hearst Corporation. Khemlani transitions into this role from Hearst Entertainment & Syndication, where he served deputy group head in charge of non-fiction TV production.

“We want to make sure we offer the best possible user experiences across our brands in all forms,” said Frank Bennack Jr., CEO of Hearst Corp., in a statement. “The genuine value we deliver to readers, viewers, listeners and professional clients through our content determines whether we are successful. Neeraj will work across all our divisions as a champion of the innovation needed to constantly increase that value.”

Khemlani has been with Hearst since 2009.

George R. Hearst Jr., chairman of the board of Hearst Corporation, has died. He was 84 years old. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that he died due to complications after a stroke. George Hearst was the grandson of William Randolph Hearst. He had been chairman of Hearst’s board since 1996.

“George was an enthusiastic supporter of the corporation’s growth and diversification strategies,” said Frank Bennack Jr., CEO of Hearst Corp., in a statement. “As chairman of the board, he brought his vast experience and wisdom to bear during a time of incredible growth and helped guide us through periods of enormous change. Although always calling every situation as he saw it, George was the most supportive and steadfast chairman a CEO could possibly have. He will be greatly missed by everyone who had the pleasure of working with him.”

Services for George Hearst will be private.

Hearst Corp. has announced that the acquisition of the magazines owned by Hachette Filipacchi Media is now complete. Lagardère brands published in Italy, Spain, Japan, Netherlands, Hong Kong, Mexico, Taiwan, Canada and Germany, are part of Hearst’s portfolio as well. Brands published in Russia, Ukaraine and China are expected to be ushered under Hearst’s wing later this year. The price tag? About $919 million.

The much discussed deal puts Hearst in charge of over 300 titles, including 13 editions of the powerhouse Elle. Frank Bennack Jr. issued the following statement:

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