This week local news network Patch posted a story about former E! News correspondent Ken Baker‘s new career and life in Chicago by a writer named Lawrence Leon. But there is no Lawrence Leon, Page Six has discovered.
The story was actually written by a Patch contributor who posted the name in error. The byline was later changed to “SC” and shows the logo of Baker’s digital marketing company, Something Clever.
“The story was posted as a paid announcement, per Patch policy. In fact, there is a full disclosure of that at the bottom of the story,” a rep for Something Clever told Page Six on Thursday. “The point of the sponsored announcement was for Something Clever to update the community on Ken’s exciting new digital marketing venture and the response to it has been overwhelmingly positive.”
Initially, there was no full disclosure included with the story, but it was later added.
Baker’s Patch profile shared why he and “E! News” “mutually agreed” to part ways after a former intern and ex-employee accused him of sexual harassment.
“E! was awesome and put out a statement saying it had nothing to do with the gossip,” the article reads. “But, still, I was like, ‘Oh, great. Just as I am embarking on a new phase, I have to deal with people literally throwing past things out there to hurt me.’ I felt terrible about the whole thing and the hardest part was not knowing where it was coming from.”
An E! spokesperson told Page Six on Wednesday, “The Company and Mr. Baker mutually agreed that he will not be returning to his role on ‘E! News.’ We will not be commenting further.”