Press them for sex and pay them off when it goes wrong:
Actress Eliza Dushku claims she was written off the CBS drama Bull after reporting sexual harassment by the show’s lead actor Michael Weatherly – allegations the network tried to bury by paying her a $9.5million settlement.
Dushku, who is best known for her role in Buffy The Vampire Slayer, signed on for three episodes of Bull and was slated to be added as a full-time cast member before her interactions with Weatherly got in the way, according to a bombshell report from the New York Times.
The report claims that the two actors – who played love interests – got along well in the beginning and that Dushku thought Weatherly ‘seemed friendly’.
Things took a turn after Weatherly allegedly made a series of comments in front of other cast and crew members that made Dushku uncomfortable – including remarks about her appearance, a rape joke and a mention of having a threesome.
Dushku, who says she had been told by Bull producer and writer Glenn Gordon Caron that her character would become more prominent, flagged the comments up to the network.
Soon after she was pushed off the show out of what she claims to be retaliation.
This isn’t even scratching the tip of the iceberg. When investigators start digging into the payoffs to parents, the real fireworks will start.