
It began as a scoop in a weekly tabloid: the allegation that a middle-aged former boy-band star turned top television host had paid hush money to a woman for unspecified wrongdoing. Other articles followed, asserting that it was a case of sexual assault, and stirring a wave of public outrage not only toward the ex-singer but also his employer, a major TV broadcaster, for how it handled the situation. On Thursday, the man at the center of the controversy announced his retirement, but the episode had already turned into a...