Actor Michael Weatherly, late of NCIS, now starring in the TV courtroom drama series Bull, made some off-colour sexual comments to actress Eliza Dushku on set. She complained, was dropped from the series and later came to a confidential agreement with CBS which paid her $9.5 million, the equivalent of how much she would have received in salary for the planned four seasons.
This has come to light on the back of the Les Moonves CBS #metoo investigations undertaken by independent counsel.
Eliza Dushku, 30 December 1980, Boston, MA, started acting aged 10 and reported being sexually assaulted aged 12 by a stunt man and she was subsequently injured on set after he was confronted. She developed a serious alcohol and drug problem and says she suffers from ADHD. She later became known for playing in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.
She’s a Sun Mercury in Capricorn square Jupiter Saturn in Libra so will be up and down mood-wise. She’s also got a difficult Pluto (Moon) in Libra square Mars so will have suffered a good deal of inner rage and conflict, which would have exacerbated her addictions.
Michael Weatherly, 8 July 1968 New York, is an excitable Sun Cancer conjunct Mars on one side and Venus on the other. His Sun Venus are trine Neptune, sextile Uranus Pluto and square Saturn. He’s suited to the varied/fast-changing film and TV business, emotionally changeable, blows hot and cold, can be charmingly persuasive and can be shut off. He’s had a two year marriage, a two year engagement, and now a second marriage lasting nine years. His Mercury in Gemini may oppose a Sagittarius Moon squaring onto Uranus Pluto – which will make him highly strung.
He certainly didn’t have an easy interface with Eliza Dushku since her Pluto square Mars collides with his Saturn and Venus; and her Saturn Jupiter squares his Mars and Sun.
The relationship chart is very conflicted with the composite Mats opposition both the Sun and Uranus as well as being square Saturn.
I can see with her history why she’d be abnormally sensitive to unsavoury sexual cracks but unless there’s more to it than meets the eye it’s an extraordinary amount of money for a few bloke-ish jokes in a business where contracts are made and broken in the blink of an eye.
“I can see with her history why she’d be abnormally sensitive to unsavoury sexual cracks but unless there’s more to it than meets the eye it’s an extraordinary amount of money for a few bloke-ish jokes in a business where contracts are made and broken in the blink of an eye.”
I’m certain there is more to it than meets the eye.
“The settlement, according to the investigators’ notes, which the Times states it reviewed, points to a tendency at the company to ignore signs of harassment and fail to seek justice on behalf of victims, choosing instead to “protect itself.”
Dushku eventually entered mediation with the company, whose lawyer presented footage of Dushku on the set of Bull, hoping to build a case that it was her behavior and not Weatherly’s that led to her dismissal. But the tapes actually had instances of the harassment Dushku described.
Investigators write that: “the company’s failure to recognize the instances of harassment caught on tape was a symptom of larger problems at CBS, according to the draft of their report.”
From article in ‘Jezebel’ magazine.
It’s appalling that she was sacked because of his behaviour. The fact that the payment was so substantial makes me wonder how bad his harassment was. I’m glad she got the compo.