"Friends" writers being sued for harrassment
 

Check out the lawsuit from an assistant, who worked on the show, against many writers on the show here (mature descriptions of hostile work environment/gender harrassment)

Joey as a serial rapist...:eek:

I actually went to thesmokinggun.com and read that last night. Makes the writers for "Friends" seem like even more retarded versions of Beavis and Butthead. Hard to believe they could write anything remotely creative if this is true.

:lol: #69 is pretty funny too.

Are there more pages, or is there only that one "racial harassment," because that one incident sounds like an Elton John-style accusation. I assume there are more pages.

Most of the stuff on that list seems very petty, especially #41. I can understand the need to protect employees from genuine harassment, but you can't protect them from <i>everything</i>. Many people talk this way, particularly during creative brainstorming, and especially when they're friends (no pun intended). It's clearly just the way they interact with each other, because out of that list of 90+ offenses, many of which are really stretching it, she can't come up with a single legitimate racial or sexual action/comment directed at her. Now maybe it's in the pages we don't have, but the fact that she'd list insults about working for Nickelodeon and "speaking to me like I'm dumb" as "sexual harassment" doesn't speak too well for her credibility. And listing the computer network problem as <i>both</i> sexual <i>and</i> racial harassment, when there's no solid evidence of how it is either?

I don't know ... this stuff is always a touchy issue, but I'm so tired of people getting "offended" over everything, that I'm inclined to side with the writing staff here. Sure, they were vulgar and swore a lot, but I don't see anything directed at the plaintiff, nor do I see mention of any attempt to complain about this behavior, only "I was too appalled, offended, and mortified to speak." Granted, some of the stuff they said was pretty raunchy, but someone could get offended by damn near anything, and if that person never even speaks up about what offends her, it's really hard for people to know. For example, I didn't read anything there that would offend me. I'd consider a lot of it childish and unprofessional, but it wouldn't offend me. I think you could make an argument for both sides of this issue, but reading through this list, it sure seems like the plaintiff was more interested in quietly accumulating damaging information to file a petty lawsuit because of professional disagreements than actually being offended by all this stuff. Who knows, though.

All that being said, it sure makes the writers look like real jackasses. No wonder this show's not that funny anymore.

<i>Edit: I read in another article that Lyle was not hired in any creative capacity, but simply to transcribe the creative brainstorming sessions of the actual writers. I guess that explains why she had all these records, but it also explains why they didn't care about her creative input. The article indicated she was fired after four months for misrepresenting her typing skills on her resume and not being able to perform the job as well as required.</i>

das

I agree with das here. The racial harassment charge about the computers is silly and lacks any supporting evidence. First you would need to determine if ANY type of bias existed here in first place. Were the other assistants hired on the same day? If not, maybe they had to wait when they were 'newbies' as well. Were their job tasks EXACTLY the same as hers? Honestly, if she's just doing transcriptions is being connected to the network THAT vital to her job, other than for purposes of transferring those reports?

As for the lewd comments, I wonder what the female writers on staff think of it all? Other than one or two comments this is ignored. I'd imagine 80% of these 'offenses' happened in one half hour b.s. session between a bunch of guys, a session where she was instructed (24) not to take notes because it had nothing to do with the show.

It IS a bit bizarre that these guys would continue this type of (otherwise normal for guys) talk with an unfamiliar person (esp. female) in their presence. It sounds like the type of stuff guys would discuss in the men's room. The personal insult charges sound (like the Nickelodeon stuff) more like typical office hazing, which is probably common on a comedy show like this.

This one struck me as odd as well considering the extra bit das posted...

86. Andrew Reich would always make comments and shoot down any of my ideas.

If anything these guys are guilty of poor judgement and bad taste.

I read part of the complaints from Lyle. It's kinda shocking to hear this type of behavior in a work environment especially one in a high profile like Friends. If the complaints is true, then I hope she can win the case so it'll send a message to the employers that work environment should be kept clean and work-friendly.

some of those seem odd at least, but it seems like the general teasing.

rotfl

That was probably funnier then any Friends script this season.

While it does seem a lot of those complaints are petty, they should have to pay something for being dumb enough to say those things in front of someone.

The defendants stated "that vulgar comments, gestures and jokes were a regular part of creating a program about sexually active young people." That doesn't exactly sound to me like a denial of the charges. And I don't really consider "Friends" as a vulgar show about sexually active young people either, so their defense is a little weak.

But even if you just accept the fact they were dorks with a juvenile sense of humor, I can't consider the stuff that was said about Courtney Cox to be humorous no matter how hard I try. That was just mean.

Man that all sounds pretty bad. If it is true, hopefully she'll win this case. Sounds like the writers are too big for there boots.

not gonna read all that, but.......you're not allowed to talk about sex in the US??

That was the funniest Friends episode ever.

Honestly, I really don't see anything worth suing over. I doubt the writing area of a insanely popular sitcom is the most business like of places. And it seems that most of her complaints were about a bunch of guys joking around with each other. The only thing that was about her was that her PC wasn't hooked up to the network.
I myself have wondered aloud if Courtney Cox was competently servicing her husband. I mean, she was a about 80 pounds and filthy stinking rich. There's not a lot of incentive to make Dave happy.

Below are my favorite complaints:
27,29,33,45,46,47,49,50,59(classic),61,64,67,69(i agree),87,88(me too)

D

31. I would have to listen to these offensive, vulgar and obscene comments all day and was too appalled, offended and mortified to speak.

Judge Roto: Case dismissed.
If you don't let anyone know you're offended until the show is over then tough shit.

Sounds like someone just trying to get a piece of the last Friends pie to me. Plus, this is like opening up a big can of worms. If this is true and this is how it's like with the Friends' writers, can you just imagine how it is for Will and Grace? Sex and the City? Come on man.

Chapelles Show:

19. Rick James slapped me repeatedly

28. Wayne Brady choked me.

34. Skeet Skeet Skeet all over my desk.

D

"I had to constantly listen to what kind of breasts and what kind of buttock my supervisors were most attracted to."

Ok, so it's probably dumb for these guys to say this in front of people, but give me a break! nothing worth sueing over.

No, you can, but if you're a white male you'd better be careful what you say as if, for some reason, a minority or a woman (worse even, a female minority) is offended in even the slightest bit they can sue you for it. But if you're the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company and lie about your companies finances, helping to throw the economy into a two year recession, no worries.

HEEELLLOOO people! She works on a show that is 90% of the time about sex. Mix in some comedy and you have "friends," where does she think the writers get ideas from? If I were sitting in on one of their board meettings or whatever, I would kind of expect some unappropriate remarks, if not, I would wonder where the real writers of "friends" were.

If she were working for a corporation I can see where comments may be inappropriate, but this is for a show mixing sex and comedy. I think they have different boundaries.

I've heard worse at dinner with my friends. The case should be thrown out of court for the reason Roto said.

Dinner with friends and a work environment are totally different things. Like it or not, I think that she has a genuine complaint, especially in these PC days. If true, a number of the complaints that she has listed definitely qualify as harassment.

As for the show being about sex, I agree, a large part of it is, but behind the scenes they are held to the same laws and regulations as any other company or individual.

As for not reporting it until now, it is strange, but I guess now she does not fear losing her job (although she did lose it anyway). Anyway, unless there is a time limit on these type of charges (there probably is), timing is not a factor either.

I agree with you, MovieKing. There are places where certain conversations are not ok. Talking dirty during dinner with your friends is definitely different than talking dirty at work. At dinner, you can always walk out, but at work, if you walk out, you won't get your work done. It's definitely not ok to talk dirty during work when it'll make the environment too hostile for work. Some people don't have the luxury to just pack up and change job every time the work place become too hostile.

Even if work isnt the place to talk about like that...she still didnt say anything about being offended.

If you don't speak up then who is going to know you are offended?

Or she wanted a guaranteed paycheck until the series was over. So in that case, the offending remarks were okay in her book, for a while anyway.

Exactly. She even states that one person found a particular word offensive, so they wouldn't use it in front of that person.

Yeah, she makes the case for the defense. When someone stated that they were offended by a word, instructions were given not to use that work around that person. So it seems that if she had just said, 'Hey, this makes me uncomfortable' then the behavior would have stopped(at least in her presence). The staff aren't mind readers and if that type of talk had been going on for years, then it's safe to assume that they didn't see it as being wrong. She can't walk in and expect everyone to know the rules have changed unless she opens her mouth.

D