Neil deGrasse Tyson has responded to accusations of sexual harassment and rape, saying the first two were misunderstandings, and the latter, a lie.
An investigation has been launched into the world's most famous astrophysicist by the producers of his show, Cosmos, and Fox Broadcasting, which is set to air its second season next year.
One woman said Mr Tyson groped her in 2009 after noticing she had a tattoo.
"He noticed my tattoo and kind of grabbed me to look at it, and was really obsessed about whether I had Pluto on this tattoo or not... and then he looked for Pluto, and followed the tattoo into my dress," she told website Patheos.
Another said in 2018 she had to quit a job she had as his assistant after repeated sexual advances, including a night where they ate cheese, drank wine and listened to "romantic" music.
In a lengthy post on his Facebook page, Mr Tyson said he welcomed an investigation into his behaviour because "an impartial investigation can best serve the truth".
The 2009 incident he said occurred just three days after Pluto had been demoted as a planet, so was a hot topic of discussion.
"She was wearing a sleeveless dress with a tattooed solar system extending up her arm. And while I don't explicitly remember searching for Pluto at the top of her shoulder, it is surely something I would have done in that situation," he admitted.
He said he didn't grope her - instead it was "simply a search under the covered part of her shoulder of the sleeveless dress" - and had only just learned she thought it was "creepy".
"That was never my intent and I'm deeply sorry to have made her feel that way. Had I been told of her discomfort in the moment, I would have offered this same apology eagerly, and on the spot."
As for the 2018 incident, he said over the course of shooting new episodes, they'd become close friends. He invited her over, and she accepted. Two hours later, she was on her way home.
"Afterwards, she came into my office to told me she was creeped out by the wine & cheese evening. She viewed the invite as an attempt to seduce her, even though she sat across the wine & cheese table from me, and all conversation had been in the same vein as all other conversations we ever had."
He said he "apologised profusely" right there and then, but she quit anyway - but not before offering a hug, which he accepted.
The rape accusations first arose a few years ago. Mr Tyson said the accuser was a woman he briefly dated in the early 1980s, and he didn't even recognise her when her picture was in the news.
"She had changed her name and lived an entire life, married with children, before this accusation," he wrote.
"In this new life, long after dropping out of astrophysics graduate school, she was posting videos of coloured tuning forks endowed with vibrational therapeutic energy that she channels from the orbiting planets. As a scientist, I found this odd.
"Meanwhile, according to her blog posts, the drug and rape allegation comes from an assumption of what happened to her during a night that she cannot remember. It is as though a false memory had been implanted, which, because it never actually happened, had to be remembered as an evening she doesn't remember."
In closing, Mr Tyson said accusations can "damage a reputation and marriage. Sometimes irreversibly."
"I see myself as loving husband and as a public servant - a scientist and educator who serves at the will of the public. I am grateful for the support I've received from those who continue to respect and value me and my work."
The careers of a number of high-profile men have been damaged since the #MeToo movement began in 2017. While the new openness about sexual harassment and assault has been welcomed by most, some have expressed concern the accused aren't being given a chance, or that minor incidents are being treated the same as serious assaults.
The journalist whose expose on Harvey Weinstein kickstarted the movement, Ronan Farrow, said last year each story should be examined carefully, but on whole it's a "net benefit to society".
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