Shortly after she spoke directly to Weatherly, she was written off the show.ĭushku said the alternative to a confidential settlement would have been a drawn-out lawsuit, which, because of her contract, would have been handled in private arbitration proceedings instead of a court. "It sounds like she was in a horrible position and that she didn't have many good options."ĭushku, 37, said she asked Weatherly to stop his behavior, which she said included inviting her to join him in a "rape van," proposing a "threesome" with her and saying he wanted to spank her after she flubbed a line. "Hopefully exposure to sunlight and public knowledge would have a beneficial effect, but maybe what we are seeing with her situation is that it's not easy and it's difficult for people to come forward," said Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law. The settlement with Dushku came to light as part of an external investigation into the allegations against Moonves, highlighting how difficult it has become to keep such cases secret amid the nationwide reckoning over sexual harassment. The movement has highlighted the widespread corporate practice of handling sexual harassment cases through confidential settlements, which offer victims privacy but can also help enable serial misbehavior. The settlement also came at the height of the #MeToo movement that galvanized hundreds of women to publicly reveal their experiences with sexual misconduct. "CBS did not want to do this, but I wouldn't settle without this condition," Dushku wrote in an essay in The Boston Globe, her first comments about the settlement, which was first reported last week by The New York Times.ĭushku says in the essay published Wednesday that she broke her silence because she was angry that Weatherly and show producer Glenn Gordon Caron spoke publicly about the case to the Times with "more deflection, denial, and spin."ĬBS quietly settled with Dushku while the company was dealing with sexual harassment allegations against its top executive, Les Moonves, who was forced out as CEO in September after the accusations became public. But she says she took solace in a requirement she imposed on the company: that "CBS designate someone trained in sexual harassment compliance to monitor Weatherly and the show in general." "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.Actress Eliza Dushku says she struggled with her decision to keep quiet about the sexual harassment she says she endured from the star of the CBS show "Bull," weighing her desire to keep her ordeal private against her worry that it would be swept under the rug.ĭushku, who says she was written off the show after she complained about actor Michael Weatherly's behavior, agreed to stay silent as part of a $9.5 million settlement with CBS earlier this year. "When Eliza told me that she wasn't comfortable with my language and attempt at humor, I was mortified to have offended her and immediately apologized. "During the course of taping our show, I made some jokes mocking some lines in the script," Weatherly, who was a star of the network's leading drama NCIS for 13 seasons, told the Times. "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," CBS said.īut no action was taken against the man who since 2016 plays the role of Jason Bull, a psychologist who counsels lawyers during trial. Last year, star host Charlie Rose was fired after eight women accused him of sexual harassment. The network is reeling from having had to fire its CEO Les Moonves in September over sexual harassment and assault claims.
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