Eliza Dushku says Michael Weatherly repeatedly harassed her on the set of Bull. Photo / AP
Eliza Dushku says Michael Weatherly repeatedly harassed her on the set of Bull. Photo / AP
Actress Eliza Dushku says she was fired from the TV series Bull after accusing her co-star Michael Weatherly of sexual harassment.
Dushku has revealed the details of Weatherly's behaviour in a new op-ed for the Boston Globe, just days after the New York Times revealed the actress waswritten off the series and granted a $9.5 million (NZD$14m) payout to settle the harassment claims.
After signing onto the CBS series in March 2017 for a small arc, with plans to become a series regular, Dushku says Weatherly began making inappropriate remarks to her in front of cast and crew.
"Weatherly harassed me from early on," writes Dushku. "The tapes show his offer to take me to his 'rape van, filled with all sorts of lubricants and long phallic things.' There was also his constant name-calling; playing provocative songs (like Barracuda) on his iPhone when I approached my set marks; and his remark about having a threesome.
"He made the threesome remark to me about himself and me in a room full of people. Minutes later, a crew member sidled up next to me and, with a smirk, said in a low voice, 'I'm with Bull. I wanna have a threesome with you too.'
Dushku also reveals that Weatherly would mimic "penis jousting" with a male costar, boast about his sperm, and referred to the actress as "legs".
"He regularly commented on my 'ravishing' beauty, following up with audible groans, oohing and aahing," she writes. "Weatherly had a habit of exaggerated eye-balling and leering at me; once, he leaned into my body and inhaled, smelling me in a dramatic swoon.
"As was caught on tape, after I flubbed a line, he shouted in my face, 'I will take you over my knee and spank you like a little girl.'"
Dushku says Weatherly would also brag about his friendship with CBS chief executive Les Moonves, who resigned from his position in September after being accused of misconduct by 12 women.
"(Weatherly's) conduct was unwelcome and directed at me. Watching the recordings in the settlement process, it is easy to see how uncomfortable, speechless, and frozen he made me feel.
"This was classic workplace harassment that became workplace bullying. I was made to feel dread nearly all the time I was in his presence. And this dread continues to come up whenever I think of him and that experience."
Dushku says after weeks of harassment, she had a conversation with Weatherly about his behaviour. She later learned that 40 minutes after their conversation, he texted CBS Television President David Stapf asking for "what amounted to" her being written off the show.
Dushku says part of her settlement was establishing a "culture change"; including the requirement that CBS designate an individual trained in "sexual harassment compliance to monitor Weatherly and the show in general."
