Prominent country music publicist Kirt Webster has stepped down from his firm amid sexual assault allegations _ and now, his high-profile clients are doing the same.
Webster PR previously housed some of the biggest names in country music, including Dolly Parton, Kid Rock, Kenny Rogers and Billy Ray Cyrus.
But Tuesday, former aspiring country singer Austin Rick accused Webster, 43, of drugging and sexually assaulting him in 2008, opening the floodgates for further allegations against the disgraced flack.
Webster on Wednesday told The Tennessean that he was stepping down from the firm he founded in 1996 to "focus on combating the egregious and untrue allegations made against him."
That same day, Webster PR rebranded itself as Westby PR, named after Webster's second-in-command Jeremy Westby.
But with the rebranding came the departure of some of the firm's most well-known clients.
Kid Rock cut ties, as did Dolly Parton, Gary Morris, Billy Ray Cyrus and Justin Moore, according to The Tennessean.
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"I never witnessed or heard about any of this outside that he was probably gay, which I could care less about," Rock said in an email to music industry analyst Bob Lefsetz. "We cancelled his and his company's services upon not only hearing about these, but other rumors that are starting to swirl. I hope to god this (expletive) he is being accused of is not true as he has been nothing but a good friend to me. But if it comes to light that it is, I will be the first to cut the head off the snake."
According to its website, Westby PR currently houses 14 clients, including Don McLean, Kenny G, The Oak Ridge Boys and KC & the Sunshine Band.
The powerhouse exec's swift downfall stems from Rick's initial accusation, in which he claimed Webster drugged and sexually assaulted him at a party in 2008.
"I drank a drink. I drank a second drink, and before that second drink was gone, I remember nothing else. The next thing I remember was waking up, coming to, under his sheets, in his bed. I had my own guest bedroom right down the hallway... But I wake up in his bed. He is like, bear-hugging slash cuddling me and he's kissing my ears, my nose, my mouth, my neck, everything," Rick told The Nashville Scene.
Webster _ who has denied the allegations and claims his contact with Rick was consensual _ also faces accusations from ten former employees who told the Tennessean that Webster swapped explicit photos for meet-and-greet sessions with Dolly Parton, touched them without their permission and was verbally and emotionally abusive.
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Three additional men came forward Thursday to The Tennessean with accusations against Webster: one, a former household contractor who claimed Webster molested him in 2009, one an office manager who claims he was groped by Webster in 2014 and the third an ex-personal assistant who says he was touched inappropriately and verbally abused in 2015.
Nashville Police will reportedly not pursue charges against Webster due to a statute of limitations.
