A bitter legal battle is underway to have Timothy Hutton fired from the reboot. lever After he was accused of raping a teenage girl in 1983.
In response to a lawsuit filed by the actress alleging that her agreement was violated, the series producer Electric Entertainment claims that Hutton “deliberately concealed and concealed” attempts to pay the victim and removed a story exposing the allegations during interviews. despite knowing that “the scandal that was going to get in the way prevented him from offering the role”.
Hutton, who was shot down Leverage: Rescue After the allegations became public, he denied the allegations. He was not indicted for the incident.
The actor claimed in the lawsuit that his deal to star in and produce the show included a “pay or play” clause that guaranteed him at least $3 million “regardless of whether Electric used his services to produce the series.” He said the deal was closed in February 2020, before BuzzFeed reported that a woman had filed a complaint with Canadian police that Hutton had raped her in a shooting in Vancouver. ice Man.
But in a lawsuit filed on Monday, Electric Entertainment says Hutton had a legal duty to disclose the allegations against him, but chose not to do so because he knew doing so would violate a moral clause in his contract.
According to the complaint, the rape allegations emerged two weeks after Hutton successfully negotiated the basic terms of his claim. Leverage: Rescue.
“The fact that Crusader Hutton was accused of raping a minor, the fact that he tried to redeem her, the fact that he could not redeem her, and BuzzFeed running the defendant’s story, all of that was material. A CROSSDEFENDANT trade involved with Cross-Defendant to appear in Leverage 2.0,” the complaint reads.
Hutton argued that their agreement did not include a “morality clause” that would allow the contract to be terminated if one party engaged in actions that could reflect negatively on the other party. Electric Entertainment responds in its complaint that it is “indisputable” that the provisions adopted by the industry that define the circumstances in which a producer can opt out of an agreement “could become part of the Leverage 2.0 agreement”, since both parties are based on Hutton’s 2007 contract The Original Series while negotiating a reboot deal.
Electric Entertainment also claims that Hutton’s failure to do so derailed the charges against him.
“At the time the parties negotiated Leverage 2.0, the entertainment industry was plagued by ongoing news of alleged serial sexual harassment, sexual assault and alleged rape,” the complaint states. “The 14-year-old’s rape allegations were so serious in light of the #MeToo movement that it would have been impossible for Cross-Complainant to make a television series with CROSS-DEFENDANT HUTTON as an actor.
In a March 2020 BuzzFeed story, Serah Johnston Hutton said that Hutton raped her in 1983. One of her friends, who was also invited to the hotel room where Johnston was allegedly attacked, signed an affidavit confirming her story. Hutton claims that Johnston fabricated the charges to blackmail him.
An alleged deal that would have paid Johnston $135,000 fell apart as Hutton continued to deny the attack.
Noah Wyle replaced Hutton Leverage: Rescue. It was renewed for a second season in December.
Hutton’s representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
