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US documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock has publicly confessed to a history of sexual misconduct, referring to himself as “part of the problem”.

Mr Spurlock, who made the hit film Super Size Me, wrote on Twitter that he had been accused of rape and had paid to settle a claim of sexual harassment.

He also admitted cheating on “every wife and girlfriend I have ever had”.

The US entertainment industry has been rocked by claims of sexual abuse and harassment going back decades.

In a lengthy statement, Mr Spurlock said that after months of such revelations he had come to the conclusion that “I am not some innocent bystander, I am also a part of the problem”.

“As I sit around watching hero after hero, man after man, fall at the realisation of their past indiscretions, I don’t sit by and wonder ‘who will be next?’ I wonder, ‘when will they come for me?’,” he wrote.

He said the allegations of rape took place at college. It did not lead to charges or investigations but he said the woman had written about the incident in a story writing class and had named Mr Spurlock.

The settlement for alleged harassment involved a female employee and took place about eight years ago, he said.

“It wasn’t a gropy, feely harassment. It was verbal, and it was just as bad,” he wrote.

“I would call my female assistant ‘hot pants’ or ‘sex pants’ when I was yelling to her from the other side of the office. Something I thought was funny at the time, but then realised I had completely demeaned and belittled her to a place of non-existence.”

Mr Spurlock, 47, said that when the woman decided to leave she asked for a settlement in return for her silence.

“Being who I was, it was the last thing I wanted, so of course I paid,” he said.

“I paid for peace of mind. I paid for her silence and co-operation. Most of all, I paid so I could remain who I was.”

‘I will do better’

Mr Spurlock said he himself had been the victim of sexual abuse as a boy and a teenager, and also had a longstanding drink problem.

“I haven’t been sober for more than a week in 30 years, something our society doesn’t shun or condemn but which only served to fill the emotional hole inside me and the daily depression I coped with,” he wrote.

Mr Spurlock said he hoped that by “recognising and openly admitting what I’ve done to further this terrible situation, I hope to empower the change within myself”.

“We should all find the courage to admit we’re at fault,” he said.

“I will do better. I will be better. I believe we all can.”

Responding to messages on Twitter, Mr Spurlock said he was “seeking help”.

Fresh claims of sexual misconduct against entertainment industry figures have been appearing on an almost daily basis for weeks. The revelations have sparked the #MeToo movement in which women have come forward with their stories.

Actress Salma Hayek recently alleged that Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein sexually harassed and threatened her, describing him as a rage-fuelled “monster”.

Dozens of actresses, including Rose McGowan, Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow, have accused Weinstein of harassment or assault.

Weinstein denies all allegations of non-consensual sex.

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Republicans are lashing out at former White House strategist Steve Bannon after the party’s stunning election loss in Alabama.

A New York congressman urged the party to “dump” Mr Bannon, saying: “His act is tired, inane and morally vacuous.”

The Breitbart News chief is blamed for egging on President Donald Trump to back Roy Moore, who lost on Tuesday.

But Mr Trump seems unwilling to drop Mr Bannon, speaking to him for 15 minutes on Tuesday, the New York Times said.

Analysts say the president is a reactive politician who relies increasingly on the eyes and ears of allies such as Mr Bannon.

‘War on the establishment’

The former strategist vowed in October to challenge “every Republican incumbent”.

• Democrat wins in Alabama Senate upset

He was a passionate supporter of Mr Moore, an ultra-conservative former judge who crashed to defeat in Republicans’ first loss in Alabama in 25 years.

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But despite all the criticism, Mr Bannon is defiant.

An unnamed source close to him told Bloomberg: “This doesn’t stop Steve’s war against the establishment.

“All it does is pour gasoline on top of it.”

New York Representative Pete King launched a highly personal attack on Mr Bannon on Wednesday morning.

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The Republican congressman tweeted: “After Alabama disaster GOP [the Republican party] must do right thing and DUMP Steve Bannon.”

He added: “If we are to Make America Great Again for all Americans, Bannon must go! And go NOW!!”

Mr King later appeared on CNN to say the former Trump adviser “looks like some kind of dishevelled drunk that wandered onto the political stage”, even though Mr Bannon reportedly abstains from alcohol.

The congressman also attacked Mr Bannon’s “weird alt-right views”, which he said did not represent conservative values.

• Trump tumbles to earth with a bump
• Five consequences of Roy Moore defeat

He added that he blames the election loss in Alabama on voters’ “revulsion” towards Mr Bannon.

Illinois Republican Adam Kinzinger referred to Mr Bannon as a “RINO”, a derogatory term meaning Republican in name only.

“His morally inept strategies are unwelcome here. #YoureFired,” Mr Kinzinger tweeted.

Steve Law, president of the Senate Leadership Fund, a political group aligned with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, piled in, too.

“Not only did Steve Bannon cost us a critical Senate seat in one of the most Republican states in the country, but he also dragged the president of the United States into his fiasco,” he said in a statement.

“This is a brutal reminder that candidate quality matters regardless of where you are running.”

Mr Bannon has recently set his targets on Mr McConnell, whom he views as lukewarm on the president’s so-called America First strategy.

The editorial board of the National Review, a conservative magazine, called Mr Bannon a “cut-rate Svengali… who never met a disreputable political candidate he didn’t like”.

The former Trump strategist was widely credited with honing Mr Trump’s populist appeal in last year’s election campaign.

Mr Bannon left the White House in August to help Mr Trump’s administration as “a wingman outside” by returning to his role as head of right-wing Breitbart News, he said.

But in Alabama’s Republican primary election he backed ultraconservative former judge Roy Moore, finding himself at odds with his former boss.

Mr Trump had backed a mainstream Republican, Luther Strange, who lost.

Some in Washington began to see Mr Bannon as a potential “king-maker” for the party.

Mr Trump later endorsed Mr Moore during his contest against Democrat Doug Jones, who won by a razor thin margin on Tuesday night.

The Washington Post reported that Mr Trump made his decision after a long discussion with his former aide.

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Actress Salma Hayek has described Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein as a rage-fuelled “monster”, alleging he sexually harassed and threatened her.

Writing in the New York Times, Hayek said Weinstein once told her: “I will kill you, don’t think I can’t.”

Holly Baird, a spokeswoman for Weinstein, disputed Hayek’s account.

Dozens of actresses, including Rose McGowan, Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow, have accused Weinstein of harassment or assault.

Weinstein denies all allegations of non-consensual sex.

• How Weinstein scandal unfolded

Writing in the New York Times, Hayek, 51, described working with the film mogul on what she called her “greatest ambition” – telling the story of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.

She wrote that, after striking a deal with Weinstein for the rights of the film that would eventually become 2002’s Frida, she was forced to repeatedly refuse sexual advances.

“No to me taking a shower with him.

“No to letting him watch me take a shower.

“No to letting him give me a massage.

“No to letting a naked friend of his give me a massage.

“No to letting him give me oral sex.

“No to my getting naked with another woman,” she wrote.

She went on to accuse him of threatening to shut the film down unless she filmed a nude sex scene with another actress.

“I had to take a tranquilizer, which eventually stopped the crying but made the vomiting worse,” she wrote of her emotional turmoil at filming a scene she thought unnecessary.

“As you can imagine, this was not sexy, but it was the only way I could get through the scene.”

Weinstein’s spokeswoman said in a statement: “Mr Weinstein does not recall pressuring Salma to do a gratuitous sex scene with a female co-star and he was not there for the filming.”

“All of the sexual allegations as portrayed by Salma are not accurate and others who witnessed the events have a different account of what transpired.”

Frida would eventually gather six Oscar nominations, including a Best Actress nod for Hayek.

Mr Weinstein has been accused of rape, sexual assault and harassment, but has “unequivocally denied” any allegations of non-consensual relationships.

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Dan Johnson, a Republican politician in Kentucky who was accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl, has died in an apparent suicide.

Mr Johnson, 57, denied the allegation.

He died of a single gunshot wound after stopping his car in a secluded part of Mount Washington, the coroner said.

Mr Johnson was elected to the Kentucky state legislature in 2016. He won despite controversy over Facebook posts in which he compared Barack and Michelle Obama to monkeys.

Pastor at a local church, Mr Johnson sponsored a number of bills related to religious liberty and education in schools.

Then on Monday, the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting published a report in which a woman accused him of sexually assaulting her in his basement in 2013.

The woman reported the alleged assault at the time, but police did not pursue charges.

Preaching at his church on Tuesday, Mr Johnson said the allegations against him were “totally false”. He linked them to similar allegations against the Alabama Republican Roy Moore, who was defeated in a special Senate election that day, saying they were part of a nationwide strategy to defeat conservative Republicans.

Then shortly before 17:00 (22:00 GMT) on Wednesday, he posted a message on Facebook paying tribute to his family and saying he had suffered post-traumatic stress disorder for 16 years – “a sickness that will take my life”.

“It has won this life, BUT HEAVEN IS MY HOME.” he wrote, according to records of the post, which appears to have been removed.

Michael Skoler, president of Louisville Public Media, which owns the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, said the organisation was “deeply sad” about Mr Johnson’s death.

Kentucky governor Matt Bevin said: “Saddened to hear of tonight’s death of KY Representative Dan Johnson… My heart breaks for his family tonight”.

Jeff Hoover, the speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives, paid tribute to Mr Johnson on Twitter, saying the representative had helped him through ‘the darkest days of my life”.

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US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson appears to have been contradicted by the White House and his own department, after suggesting the US had softened its position on talks with North Korea.

Mr Tillerson said on Tuesday that he was ready to open dialogue with Pyongyang, without preconditions.

But within a day, the White House and State Department had reiterated the administration’s hard line, stressing that North Korea must first commit to abandoning its nuclear weapons.

The mixed messages mark the third time in recent months that Mr Tillerson has been publicly at odds with the White House.

Speaking at a policy forum in Washington DC on Tuesday, the secretary of state told the audience: “We’ve said from the diplomatic side we’re ready to talk any time North Korea, would like to talk, and we’re ready to have the first meeting without precondition.”

He added: “Let’s just meet and let’s talk about the weather if you want and talk about whether it’s going to be a square table or a round table if that’s what you’re excited about.”

In response to the remarks, an unnamed White House official told the Reuters news agency on Wednesday: “The administration is united in insisting that any negotiations with North Korea must wait until the regime fundamentally improves its behavior.

“As the secretary of state himself has said, this must include, but is not limited to, no further nuclear or missile tests.”

And Heather Nauert, a spokeswoman for the State Department, tweeted to reiterate the administration position that preconditions apply regarding North Korea’s nuclear programme.

She said: “Our policy on #DPRK has not changed. Diplomacy is our top priority through our maximum pressure campaign.

“We remain open to dialogue when North Korea is willing to conduct a serious & credible dialogue on the peaceful denuclearization, but that time is not now.”

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The contradiction is the latest clash between the White House and the secretary of state.

In August, then-White House advisor Sebastian Gorka criticised Mr Tillerson after the secretary of state attempted to moderate President Trump’s remarks on North Korea.

“The idea that Secretary Tillerson is going to discuss military matters is simply nonsensical, it is the job of Secretary Mattis, the secretary of defence, to talk about military matters,” Mr Gorka told the BBC.

Then in September, after Mr Tillerson said he had established direct lines of communication with Pyongyang, the president accused the secretary of “wasting his time”.

“Save your energy Rex, we’ll do what has to be done!” Mr Trump tweeted.

• Rex Tillerson – the wild card diplomat
• Tillerson’s quiet diplomacy

Mr Trump has been widely reported to be considering replacing Mr Tillerson, a former chief executive of energy giant Exxon Mobil. But the president has called the reports fake news.

Mr Tillerson has also defended the Obama administration deal to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions, which Mr Trump has railed against and sought to overturn.

Note: This story is auto-generated from BBC syndicated feed and has not been edited by AFRICA PRIME NEWS