Three former members of the props division on ABC‘s medical drama Physician Odyssey filed a lawsuit Friday towards the community’s dad or mum firm Disney and producer twentieth Tv, alleging they have been topic to sexual harassment on the set of the sequence and finally retaliated towards and terminated after they complained about it.
The go well with, filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Courtroom, says the plaintiffs — Caroline Mack, Alicia Haverland and Ava Steinbrenner — have been employed in late spring/early summer season 2024 to work within the new sequence’ props division. The defendants then employed Tammie Patton as Prop Grasp and her husband Tyler Patton as Assistant Prop Grasp who supervised and directed the plaintiffs of their work.
The go well with claims the props division “was an illegal den of sexual harassment and retaliation,” and that the plaintiffs have been topic to “an an unchecked marketing campaign of sexual harassment for months” by “Taylor Patton and his male buddies.”
Reps for Disney and twentieth TV declined remark.
The conduct cited within the lawsuit (learn it right here) allegedly included “sexual jokes, innuendos, feedback, sexual gestures and pictures, and undesirable touching together with, however not restricted to: (i) frequently giving Plaintiffs undesirable, lingering hugs; (ii) touching one of many Plaintiff’s thighs; (iii) incessantly putting his fingers on one of many Plaintiff’s decrease again; (iv) putting his arms round Plaintiffs’ necks and forcing them to “stroll with him;” and (v) overtly grabbing a visiting feminine worker’s buttocks on set.”
The go well with mentioned the plaintiffs finally went to senior manufacturing members to report the misconduct together with Tammie Patton, and say they have been retaliated towards by being pressured to do demeaning duties, and having their jobs threatened.
“Though Defendants’ Human Assets Division and Senior Administration assigned to Dr. Odyssey have been totally conscious of Tyler Patton’s inappropriate conduct and the retaliation his spouse/Plaintiffs’ boss Tammie Patton engaged in, they took no motion to forestall it,” says the go well with. “The truth is, Defendants’ human assets was asleep on the wheel and permitted the annoyed managers/producers on set to deal with these conflicts on their very own. This led to Plaintiffs struggling extra mistreatment, retaliation, and emotional misery.”
In the long run, the plaintiffs say that fairly than taking motion towards the alleged harassers, the defendants knowledgeable your complete props division in August that it was being terminated. That grew to become efficient on the finish of September.
“Defendants took the ‘straightforward’ means out selecting to eradicate not solely the wrongdoers — Prop Grasp Tammie Patton and Assistant Prop Grasp Tyler Patton — however the entire remaining staff within the Props Division who had been topic to the wrongdoers’ misconduct,” the go well with says.
Consequently, the plaintiffs are claiming wrongful termination along with claims of sexual harassment, failure to forestall harassment and retaliation.
The go well with additionally cites negligent hiring on the a part of Disney, Fox and co-defendant Leisure Companions, saying the defendants knew Tyler Patton had been topic to related accusations and lawsuit on the set of the mid-2000s Fox medical drama sequence Home. “Notably, there was some overlap between staff on Dr. Odyssey and staff on the set of Home,” the go well with says.
The plaintiffs are in search of a jury trial.
Physician Odyssey, from Ryan Murphy and starring Joshua Jackson and Don Johnson, debuted its first season in September and is on the bubble for a Season 2 pickup. It was not on ABC’s fall 2025 schedule when that was introduced earlier this month on the broadcast upfronts.
