Production company Millennium Films, most recently responsible for creating the dude-heavy Expendables franchise, is being sued for sexual harassment and gender discrimination by a former employee.
Variety reports that the suit alleges that the company fostered a culture of disrespect to actresses and women employees. It also alleges that CEO Avi Lerner frequently used vile language to describe women.
The suit alleges that women were called “whores,” “c—suckers,” and “mistresses,” and actresses were routinely called “too fat,” “too ugly” and “too old.”
Additionally, Lerner allegedly hired “unqualified girlfriends” to produce his movies, frequently encouraged young women in the office to wear revealing clothing, sans underwear, and responded to complaints about hiring practices by saying “the girls” were helpful because they found prostitutes for Lerner and actors. On the other hand, a woman vice-president was critiqued for her work on a film because she was “too busy having sex with her boyfriend.”
The complainant also says she was fired when she asked for time off because of back surgery in December. On top of all this, women employees were supposedly paid less than male employees. Big surprise.
Lerner responded to the allegations in a comment to Deadline on Wednesday, saying, “It’s all lies. It’s all a joke.”