Lost star Henry Ian Cusick is being sued by a former ABC employee who alleges sexual battery and harassment against the actor.
According to the suit, filed yesterday in Los Angeles court and posted in its entirety at E! Online, Cusick, who plays Desmond Hume on the show, allegedly squeezed and placed his face on the plaintiff’s breasts, kissed her on the mouth, and caressed the back of her body while making moaning sounds. The plaintiff claims the incident occurred on the set of the hit series on or about October 16, 2007, and that she was she was fired 12 days later, in retaliation for reporting Cusick’s behavior. She is seeking unspecified damages in the suit, which also names ABC Entertainment Inc., and Grass Skirt Productions as defendants.
The plaintiff had been employed by ABC since 1997, according to the suit, and had reported her allegations to the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing prior to suing.
ABC spokespersons, the plaintiff’s attorney, and employees of Grass Skirt Productions were unable to be reached as of early Saturday afternoon. Check back at EW.com for more updates.
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Awesome! that man is my hero!
oh…this is unfortunate. I guess we’ll be saying goodbye to Desmond soon
but why is she suing a year and a half later?
my only question is why would she sue so much later? seems fishy to me.
I think it’s BS. He just doesn’t seem the type in interviews & fan connection. He must have blew her off and she’s angry.
jemranilaw.com
The law firm is an ambulance chaser. Based on that and the fact it took her so long to file, I doubt this is anything but somebody looking for a quick settlement.
Let’s not go getting hasty now, ABC…you can’t rid of Desmond! The whole is unfortunate indeed, though…
I don’t like when these type of stories are reported because its a case of He said She said and usually false.
http://blog.entertainmenttodayandbeyond.com/
chuck
Sometimes shame and embarrassment is a factor in why women wait so long to pursue this type of thing. And this probably isn’t something she went into lightly. Hollywood is a very small town, and pursuing litigation is a gamble for her. She may never work again, you know? So kudos to her for speaking up.
My sister had the same thing happen to her. Different, much bigger “star,” but she went through hell. The reason she didn’t come forward was because of speculation and scrutiny as to her motives. As seen in the comments below.
Mr. Actor Man probably thought he could do whatever he wanted to this woman and get away with it because *gasp* HE’S ON THE TEEVEE!
With all due respect -Don’t blame the victim- In almost all these cases its proven to be a false. Look what happened to actor Anthony Anderson. His career was almost destroyed by these type allegations which in his case were proven to be totally false. It was when he was filming Kangaroo Jack. A women accused him of rape.So until this is proven, It’s not even worth thinking about.
http://blog.entertainmenttodayandbeyond.com/
chuck
It’s hard to think about this “incident’ because we don’t have the context in which it happened. It didn’t happen in a vaccuum! He didn’t just walk up to her out of the blue, say hello, and motorboat her! What was said, and by whom? Did he think she was into it for some reason? She did apparently stand there long enough to let him get around the bases.
The year-and-a-half lag is explained by her filing with California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, which looks into your claim (but that can take up to 2 years apparently), and if they don’t find you are lying they give you a “Right To Sue” letter (so I’ve read on other sites and articles about this). Doesn’t mean they found out that there was harassment necessarily, but that’s what takes up so much time I guess.
But the law firm is an ambulance chaser; if it’s true, why didn’t she choose a more reputable firm?
Whatever happens, I hope he doesn’t leave the show. We’ve only got the rest of season 5 and then season 6 to go!
This is one of the worst things to happen! LOST is my favorite show, and I would hate to think that its producers or cast or crew would condone this, if it is true. There has been bullying and sexual harassment at my work, and Hollywood is notorious for this stuff. Everyone is afraid to speak up about it and victims are often the ones who are ostricized. However, at the same time, there has also been people at my work who manipulate the system and try to get others in trouble for their own gain. Hollywood is also notorious for this. I just hope people will have integrity and step forward with the truth, whatever that is. Whatever it is, this is a horrible shadow over such a good show, and will negatively impact how its story ends.
this might tie in to why desmond has only been in like 3 episodes this season. probably why they decided to reunite him with penny last season. so as to tie his story up. and maybe even kill him this season.
It’s unfair for us to be so sure about who is lying and who is not. Nobody was there. While it does seem odd to me that this is coming up over a year later (Lost was just as popular in 2007 as it is now, so a publicity stunt doesn’t seem to fit, but why wait so long?) we shouldn’t take either’s side. Desmond is my favorite character on Lost (along with Sayid,) and him gone would crush me, so I only hope that whether he did this or not, it doesn’t affect the show. Charlie’s death was heart-wrenching for me, and a Desmond death would be equally disappointing. But I’m sure Lost will remain just as brilliant of a show without him.
People are so quick to talk about that which they know nothing about-I promise you this the man is not innocent
People are so quick to talk about that which they know nothing about-I promise you this the man is not innocent
Ya should know better than ta be doin’ that brotha!
Just thinking about him caressing the back of my body while making moaning sounds has me light-headed and weak. I’ll happily pay him everything I have (and take out a loan if it’ll help) if he’ll do that to ME.
I’m not a big fan of Desmond. It’s like when he came along they ditched Charlie and gave Penny/Desmond more time then Jin/Sun and Charlie/Claire. I have no idea if HIC is guilty or innocent but I wouldn’t miss Desmond and if true same on the Lost bosses for treating letting that go on.
With all due respect to the victim, the selfish side of me wishes she’d waited until the show was over. Yeah, I’m sure she’s bitter at the production too for firing her, but man, way to get fans of the show riled up!
Man, what a ratings ploy! This comes out four days before “The Variable” episode featuring Daniel and DESMOND. The writers and ABC are genius!
Well, now we know which main character is dying in the finale. Shame, I’ll miss Des.
As someone mentioned, the timing is fishy. Waiting almost two years to sue? What’s the statue of limitation in civil cases?
http://tvdonewright.com/2009/04/25/ratings-report-fox-fails-on-friday-nights/
I’m going to wait to “pass judgment.” These stories have a tendency to not be true, but at the same time I wouldn’t be surprised. As long as this doesn’t affect the plans Lost has for its final season.
Henry Ian Cusick was one of my favorite actors on Lost! This is so awful! I hope he didn’t do it.
desmond you cheeky bugger!!!
She isn’t filing a criminal complaint, which she should have.
And, instead of initiating legal action on November 1, 2007, a few days after she got fired, she waits 18 months and filing a civil suit in hopes of a settlement.
Granted, she may have taken other steps. Obviously, if he did the act, it was wrong. The first time, she should have told him to stop, hopefully she did. If she got fired because of it, that is wrong, too. Again, should have gone after ABC the next day.
I imagine ABC will come out with why they fired here, and I’m betting it was a legit reason… like she swiped something and sold it on eBay.
she waited 2 years almost.. well at least a year to report the allegations..
My guess is she was ok with it when it happened.. heck, she probably liked it.. but soemthing went down, and now shes mad… right…
Yes you all are right. The victim is totally to blame. Let’s give the benefit of the doubt to the guy who pretends for a living. And I’m sure she didn’t report it because she is shady and not becuase she was afraid that lost fans would crap all over her… Good job protecting someone because you like the chars ted they play on TV. I’m a fan of Lost, but if he did this he can suck it and Penny can totally take his place in the Lost heirarchy.
I’m inclined to not pass judgment either until there is total proof. Frankly, I hate to say it, but his complete lack of screen time this season COULD be an indication of this, or it could just be a build-up for the character. On the other hand, he wasn’t fired during season 4 or something, like the DUI girls. But Jin wasn’t fired for his DUI (though everybody thought he might have been after last season’s finale!). But this is a really serious claim to make. The man is married, I believe, and has children, and is a respectable actor on a major tv show which the woman was conveniently fired from. I wouldn’t be shocked if she tried to initiate something herself and he rejected her and she decided to turn the tables. I’m sure all of this was brought up when it happened; it’s not like the woman went ahead with filing and word didn’t come to ABC or the Lost family.
All I have to say is, Michael Emerson and Terry O’Quinn, stay safe out there and don’t get fired for something stupid!
Also, why would she submit her complaint to a California Department of Fair Employment and Housing when the show is filmed in Hawaii where the set where she alleges all of this took place is located. I mean, sounds weird that she’d go to California if it happened in Hawaii.