Disney employee accuses studio of ignoring alleged sexual assault by exec
A Disney employee has sued the Burbank entertainment giant for allegedly failing to investigate the sexual harassment and assault she allegedly suffered at the hands of an executive at the company.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges that Disney retaliated against the plaintiff, identified as Jane Doe, after she reported former Vice President of Distribution Nolan Gonzales’ alleged sexual misconduct to the human resources department.
The plaintiff is accusing Disney, Gonzales and others of sexual harassment, sexual assault and/or battery, retaliation, negligence, disability discrimination and other grievances, including failure to investigate and prevent sexual harassment. According to the lawsuit, company leaders “created an environment in which Gonzales was free to harass women with impunity.â€
“Management was incentivized to hide Gonzales’s harassment because he generated valuable revenue as the Director of Distribution,†the complaint said. “Women were discouraged to come forward about his behaviors because management seemingly accepted Gonzales conduct as being part of the entertainment industry and his firing would hurt the company financially.â€
The complaint alleges that Gonzales repeatedly made unwanted advances toward the plaintiff while she worked for him at 20th Century Fox and Disney between 2014 and 2022. (Disney acquired 20th Century Fox — later rebranded as 20th Century Studios — in 2019.)
During the plaintiff’s early years at 20th Century Fox, Gonzales repeatedly invaded her personal space, touched her “at every opportunity,†made sexual remarks, referred to her as his wife and often asked her out on dates, according to the lawsuit. When the plaintiff rejected his advances, Gonzales allegedly reminded her of how well-connected he was in the entertainment industry and threatened to stop communicating with her.
While in Las Vegas for a conference in 2017, the lawsuit continues, Gonzales ground his pelvis into the plaintiff’s back and caressed her neck at a casino before begging her to have sex with him in her hotel room. The plaintiff declined and “was rattled by the experience,†according to the filing.
After the Las Vegas conference, the complaint alleges, Gonzales’ “comments and touching†became increasingly “aggressive and forceful.â€
The lawsuit, which expanded this week, alleges that women who work at the Burbank entertainment giant are paid less than men performing similar jobs.
Circa 2017, the filing states, Gonzales allegedly began tricking the plaintiff into “ingesting illicit drugs†and pressuring her to “consume excessive amounts of alcohol so that he could sexually abuse her with limited resistance or questioning.†The lawsuit alleges that Gonzales drugged the plaintiff and then “had sex with her while she was incapacitated.â€
The filing also alleges that Gonzales took “intimate†photos and videos of the plaintiff without her consent and threatened to publish them “if she did not agree to continue to have sex and party with him.â€
In November 2018, the plaintiff complained to the company human resources department that Gonzales had sexually harassed and drugged her, “but to her knowledge her complaints were not investigated or escalated,†according to the filing. The lawsuit claims that “many people in management were aware of Gonzales’ egregious conduct†and that the executive “‘retired’ from his position at Disney†in 2022 after other women allegedly reported his behavior.
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The plaintiff was demoted in 2023 after human resources interviewed her “numerous times†about Gonzales’ alleged misconduct, according to the lawsuit. She went on medical leave while suffering from anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, the complaint said . The plaintiff alleges that she was demoted because she reported her sexual assault.
Disney did not immediately respond Thursday to The Times’ request for comment. Gonzales could not be reached for comment.
The plaintiff is seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages.
The complaint was filed about a month after a judge certified a class action lawsuit alleging that Disney had paid thousands of women less than their male counterparts. The pay discrimination case is scheduled to go to trial next year.
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