CBS has been hit with yet another sexual harassment scandal.
The New York Times reports the network in January 2018 secretly reached a $9.5 million settlement with actress Eliza Dushku, who said she was written off of Bull after complaining about being sexually harassed by the show's star, Michael Weatherly.
Weatherly reportedly commented on Dushku's appearance, made a rape joke, and talked about having a threesome. After she confronted Weatherly about this, her character was shortly written off the series, even though there had reportedly been plans for her to join the cast full time. She felt she was written off as punishment for her sexual harassment complaint. Some of this harassment was reportedly captured on tape.
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This information came out as part of an investigation at CBS following the sexual misconduct allegations against Les Moonves, the network's former chairman. Dushku didn't comment for the Times' article, but CBS confirmed the settlement was reached, saying that "while we remain committed to a culture defined by a safe, inclusive, and respectful workplace, our work is far from done."
Weatherly told the Times he made jokes on set "mocking some lines in the script" but was "horrified" when he found out Dushku wasn't comfortable with them. "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," he said. Weatherly, after being confronted by Dushku, had reportedly texted David Stapf, the president of CBS Television Studios, "saying that he wanted to talk about Ms. Dushku's sense of humor." He denies pushing for her to be written off the series. Read more at The New York Times.
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