NEW YORK (AP) — Former employees of the top editor for the National Enquirer, Us Weekly and other major gossip publications say he openly described his sexual partners in the newsroom, discussed female employees’ sex lives and forced women to watch or listen to pornographic material.

They said the behavior by Dylan Howard, currently the chief content officer of American Media Inc., occurred while he was running the company’s Los Angeles office. Howard’s alleged conduct led to an internal inquiry in 2012 by an outside consultant.

Howard characterized the ex-employees’ claims as baseless. A company lawyer said the 2012 investigation did not show serious wrongdoing.

The Associated Press interviewed 12 former employees who knew about the investigation.