NEW YORK — The man who replaced Garrison Keillor as host of “A Prairie Home Companion” says the workplace misconduct allegation against Keillor came as “heartbreaking news.”

Chris Thile on Saturday addressed alleged improper conduct by Keillor in the opening minutes of the first show to be broadcast since news of the allegation broke.

Thile says the country is in the middle of a movement he believes represents progress. He says people are recognizing the “harmful power imbalance that women have had to endure for so long in our culture.”

Minnesota Public Radio, the show’s producer, ended its relationship with Keillor after what it said was an allegation of improper behavior with a person who worked with him on “Prairie Home.”

Keillor says he touched a woman’s bare back as he tried to console her, and that he apologized.

Thile, Keillor’s hand-picked successor, took over the show in 2016 after Keillor retired.

The name of the radio show will be changed, but a spokeswoman for MPR says Sunday that a new name had not yet been chosen.