CBS made $9.5M settlement after cutting actor who reported Bull star's sexual comments
Though committed to 'a safe, inclusive and respectful workplace, our work is far from done,' CBS says
CBS reached a $9.5 million US confidential settlement last year with Eliza Dushku after she was cut from the network's show Bull days after reporting on-set sexual comments from star Michael Weatherly.
CBS confirmed the settlement Thursday night in a statement to The Associated Press.
Dushku was written off the show after complaining about Weatherly's comments on her appearance and jokes involving sex and rape, which he made in front of cast and crew in March 2017, according to the New York Times, which first reported the settlement.
"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," the CBS statement said.
"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 settlement reemerged during the current investigation of former CBS CEO Leslie Moonves, who was ousted in September after the New Yorker published allegations from 12 women who said he subjected them to mistreatment that included forced oral sex, groping and retaliation if they resisted.
Weatherly, who appeared on the CBS series NCIS for 13 years before Bull began in 2016, said in an email to the Times that he had made jokes to Dushku during taping mocking lines in the script.
"When Eliza told me that she wasn't comfortable with my language and attempt at humour, I was mortified to have offended her and immediately apologized," the email said. "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 declined comment and her manager did not immediately reply to an AP request for comment. The settlement agreement prohibits her from discussing her experiences on the show, noted the Times.
During the mediation process, CBS handed over outtakes from the show's filming, believing the footage would help the company's case, according to the investigator's draft report reviewed by the Times.
Instead, the tapes "actually captured some of the harassment on film," wrote the lawyers investigating the matter.