Disney Hit with ‘Doctor Odyssey’ Crew Harassment Lawsuit
You obviously missed this headline, so let me spell it out for you: a group of former ‘Doctor Odyssey’ crew members has filed a lawsuit against Disney, alleging a toxic cocktail of sexual harassment and retaliation on set. The complaint, lodged earlier this month in Los Angeles Superior Court, names Disney’s in-house production arm and the show’s lead producer, accusing them of fostering a hostile work environment from principal photography in mid-2023 through wrap. According to the legal filing obtained by Deadline and corroborated by People magazine, several crew members—including camera assistants and grips—claim they were subjected to explicit comments, unwanted touching, and lewd propositions by a senior producer. When they dared to report these incidents to HR, they say, Disney not only ignored the complaints but retaliated by cutting their hours, reassigning them to less desirable posts and, in some cases, removing them from the project entirely.
Court documents allege one crew member was pressured into staying silent after being groped in a production trailer, while another was publicly humiliated during a lunch break when the same producer made “bawdy remarks” about her appearance. They say that informal reports to Disney Human Resources were met with perfunctory investigations that never interviewed key witnesses, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Instead of accountability, the complainants insist Disney’s response was to “erase” anyone who pushed back, effectively blacklisting them from future studio gigs. The suit seeks unspecified damages for emotional distress, lost wages and punitive relief, setting up a potentially bruising discovery phase that could unearth internal emails, personnel notes and witness statements.
Disney, for its part, has issued a boilerplate statement stressing its zero-tolerance policy on harassment and promising to “vigorously defend against these allegations,” according to Variety. But insiders tell The Wrap that tensions behind the scenes have been simmering since the merger with Fox, where production standards and HR protocols were already under scrutiny. Legal analysts, speaking to Bloomberg Law, suggest the case will hinge on whether crew members can prove Disney’s top brass consciously turned a blind eye to the misconduct. If so, the ripple effects could reshape how major studios handle on-set grievances going forward.
Stay tuned—this lawsuit may just expose deeper issues in Hollywood’s power structures, and trust me, you’ll want to keep reading. Not too overwhelming, right? Glad I could clear that up for you.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and Deadline, People magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Bloomberg Law
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
