A Christian publisher has canceled the publication of Andy Savage's marriage book after it was revealed that the pastor sexually assaulted a teenager.
The publishing company Bethany House said it will not anymore publish the megachurch pastor's book, "The Ridiculously Good Marriage," which was scheduled for release in July. This is after Savage confessed to sexually harassing a 17-year-old girl some 20 years ago.
Bethany House announced the cancellation on Twitter.
"Bethany House and Baker Publishing Group have cancelled publication of the Andy Savage book The Ridiculously Good Marriage. It may remain on various retail web sites for a short time until those sites update," the post says.
The canceled book deal is the latest in the ripple of repercussions that Savage is suffering after his act as a youth pastor in Texas came to light.
On Tuesday evening, the 1,000-signature petition asking him to resign from his position at East Memphis' Highpoint Church was only over a hundred signatures short, with at least 836 people asking him to leave his post.
"He should be disqualified from ministerial leadership," the petition states. "He must resign from his position at Highpoint Church or be fired by its leadership."
The victim, Jules Woodson, came out of the dark last week in light of the #metoo movement fueled by the Harvey Weinstein scandal in Hollywood. She alleged that the sexual assault happened in 1998, when then-college student Savage was a staff at Woodlands Parkway Baptist Church in Texas.
According to a blog post from Woodson, Savage drove her to a deserted back road, where she was asked to do things against her will. She said she thought at that time that the young pastor was only taking her out for ice cream.
Savage explained to his Memphis followers that he immediately resigned from his Texas post after the incident. "I was and remain very remorseful for the incident and deeply regret the pain I caused her and her family, as well as the pain I caused the church and God's Kingdom," he told his followers, who reportedly gave him a standing ovation for his remarks.
Highpoint Lead Pastor Chris Conlee has earlier expressed support for Savage, saying God supports him "1,000 percent."
