Eliza Dushku got $9.5M after harassment by Michael Weatherly
Actress Eliza Dushku accused 'Bull' co-star Michael Weatherly of sexual harassment and was written off the series before she was granted a secret $9.5 million settlement from CBS, The New York Times reports.
Actress Eliza Dushku accused "Bull" co-star Michael Weatherly of sexual harassment and was written off the series before she was granted a secret $9.5 million settlement from CBS, The New York Times reports.
Dushku, 37, signed on to the series in March 2017 for a three-episode arc with plans to become a series regular, but alleged that Weatherly, 50, promptly made inappropriate comments to and about her in front of castmates and crew members not long after she began work on the show.
Weatherly's alleged verbal sexual harassment reportedly included discussing a threesome with Dushku, a rape joke, and remarks about spanking her over his knee, as well as comments about Dushku's appearance.
Weatherly told the Times that many of his remarks were jokes made within his character's flirtatious nature.
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He said in a statement, "During the course of taping our show, I made some jokes mocking some lines in the script. When Eliza told me that she wasn't comfortable with my language and attempt at humor, I was mortified to have offended her and immediately apologized. After reflecting on this further, I better understand that what I said was both not funny and not appropriate and I am sorry and regret the pain this caused Eliza."
Dushku reportedly confronted Weatherly about his behavior and brought it to the attention of "Bull" writer and producer Glenn Gordon Caron — and was then allegedy written off the show very suddenly.
Dushku believed she'd been fired out of retaliation; Weatherly and Caron each denied the allegations to The New York Times.
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"It's my recollection that I didn't tell anyone how they should do their job regarding the hiring or firing of anybody," Weatherly said, while Caron claimed that writing Dushku's character off the series was purely a creative one.
"The idea that our not exercising her option to join the series was in any way punitive just couldn't be further from the truth," Caron said.
Dushku was reportedly paid $9.5 million, an estimation of what her pay would have been if she'd stayed on the law procedural for four seasons as a series regular. The actress declined to comment to the Times about her experiences.
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"The allegations in Ms. Dushku's claims are an example that, while we remain committed to a culture defined by a safe, inclusive and respectful workplace, our work is far from done," a spokesperson for CBS told Fox News in a statement. "The settlement of these claims reflects the projected amount that Ms. Dushku would have received for the balance of her contract as a series regular, and was determined in a mutually agreed upon mediation process at the time."
The news comes on the heels of multiple sexual misconduct allegations being levied against former CBS CEO Les Moonves.
Moonves, 69, resigned in September after 12 women accused him of sexual misconduct.
Earlier this month, it was reported that Moonves allegedly misled investigators and destroyed evidence in the sexual misconduct probe.
Dushku's manager did not immediately return Fox News' request for comment on her settlement.
A rep for Weatherly did not immediately return a request for comment.
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