Controversial TV exec Mindy Herman – who turned E! Entertainment into one of the hottest celebrity channels – got pushed out yesterday after a series of bizarre acts, notably a brawl outside a burlesque club.
The 42-year-old network chief, said by co-workers to be as talented as she was abusive, turned in her resignation following a firestorm of complaints.
Angry colleagues went over her head to co-owners of the channel – Walt Disney and Comcast – with a long list of her wacky stunts and allegations of abusive behavior to staffers.
The two companies finally decided to pull the plug on her – but approved a golden parachute of $20 million.
The tacky brawl, in the parking lot of the Hollywood burlesque club 40 Deuce, erupted earlier this season at the E! party for the premiere of its “The Anna Nicole Show.”
Witnesses told the Los Angeles Times that Herman got into “hand-to-hand combat” in the parking lot with an unidentified woman.
It wasn’t clear what the fight was about.
Colleagues told the paper that Herman craved pampering to an extreme and even used company funds for baby showers for herself.
She even took freebies meant for her colleagues, according to the paper.
Two years ago, E! sources told the Times, Herman’s representatives intercepted a Grammy gift bag that had been sent to reporters Steve Kmetko and Jules Asner.
The booty, worth several thousand dollars, included a Tumi suitcase, an Apple iPod, a weekend at an Ian Schrager hotel as well as a membership and 10 massages at the SportsClub LA in Westwood.
Her undoing began last fall with two anonymous letters to executives at Disney and Comcast over her alleged greed for gifts and the company-paid perks for her baby.
One of the letters, described by the Los Angeles Times, pleaded: “It is desperation time here at E! I pray that you will not turn a deaf ear.”
The letter said Herman threw herself two lavish baby showers – for the same baby – last fall, including one at the network headquarters described as “the single most expensive company party ever.”
Herman also sent out e-mails, strong-arming employees on gifts she wanted from her baby registry and told them where to bring the goodies, according to the Times.
“Everyone knew the implications of the e-mail – buy her something nice or risk losing your job,” said the anonymous letter. “So we all spent money we didn’t have to appease her.”
The other baby shower was held for about 30 people at the upscale Geoffrey’s restaurant, located on a Malibu bluff.
A spokeswoman for E! said Herman reimbursed the company nearly $8,000 for the office shower after learning of the anonymous complaint. The spokeswoman said Herman’s friends paid for the Geoffrey’s event.
The letter also criticized Herman for ordering E! to use her own home for a $2,000 facelift of a baby nursery on the E! show, “Guess Who’s Coming to Decorate.”
Herman took over E! two years ago and launched the popular show, “Celebrities Uncensored,” and boosted viewers of sister show, “Style,” from 6 million to 40 million.
Her work nearly doubled the value of the network to $4 billion, sources said.
Herman, who earned an MBA and a law degree from UCLA, cut her teeth in the entertainment industry at News Corp. (which owns The Post), where she worked in business affairs starting in 1990.