Sony exec to step down following hack

Sony Pictures Entertainment has confirmed that executive Amy Pascal will step down from her post as co-chair when her contract runs out in March. 

{mosads}Pascal came under fire during the recent cyberattack on Sony, after her personal emails were leaked, revealing racially tinged jokes about President Obama.

Pascal will reportedly leave the movie studio to start her own film production firm that will continue to work with Sony.

“I have spent almost my entire professional life at Sony Pictures and I am energized to be starting this new chapter based at the company I call home,” she told the Daily Mail in a statement.

Pascal’s exit is perhaps the biggest fallout from the massive digital hit on the movie studio, which has crippled its networks for months, exposed troves of internal data and emails, and nearly caused the cancellation of a big-budget comedy.

Many of the leaked emails from Sony’s executives contained petty insults aimed at the Hollywood elite, straining relationships.

The company also took a reputational hit when it briefly decided to axe the Christmas Day release of “The Interview” in response to violent threats from hackers who objected to the film’s plot about a U.S. plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The studio recanted days later and eventually rolled the film out through several online streaming services and in a limited number of independent theatres.

The government later blamed Pyongyang for ordering the digital hit on the studio. 

One area where Sony hasn’t taken a huge hit following the cyberattack, however, is financially. The company revealed on Wednesday that the hack had cost them $15 million thus far. The amount is far less than original estimates, which ran over $100 million.

Entertainment news site Deadline reported the Pascal departure rumors early Thursday morning.