CBS reached $9.5M settlement with actress over sexual harassment: report

CBS reached a $9.5 million confidential settlement with actress Eliza Dushku after she alleged she was subjected to a series of inappropriate comments, The New York Times reported Thursday. 

Eliza Dushku was hired to play a major role on the CBS drama “Bull” in 2017, but was written off the show shortly after confronting the show’s star over the alleged comments, the Times reported.

{mosads}The star, Michael Weatherly, reportedly remarked on Dushku’s appearance, made a rape joke and a comment related to a threesome, according to the Times.

Dushku then told CBS that she believed her being written off the show was retaliation. Dushku and CBS went through mediation before the network agreed to pay her the $9.5 million, or about the amount Dushku would have earned had she remained a cast member for four seasons, the Times notes.

“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 in a statement to the Times confirming the settlement.

“The settlement of these claims reflects the projected amount that Ms. Dushku would have received for the balance of her contract as a series regular, and was determined in a mutually agreed upon mediation process at the time.”

Dushku declined to comment on the settlement to the Times.

Weatherly apologized for this behavior toward Dushku to the Times.

“During the course of taping our show, I made some jokes mocking some lines in the script,” he said in a statement.

“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. 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,” he added.

The news of Dushku’s settlement comes during a months-long external investigation into multiple accusations of sexual misconduct made by several women against the network’s former CEO, Les Moonves. According to a draft of the investigation report obtained by the Times, attorneys said CBS’s management of Dushku’s complaints were indicative of larger problems at the network.

Investigators wrote that, when faced with claims of wrongdoing, CBS was inclined to protect itself at the expense of victims, the Times reported.