Ex-Paramount executive allegedly sexual assaulted – Business News
A former Paramount Pictures executive was accused of sexual harassment and emotional abuse by two former staff — with one of them alleging that she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by the supervisor, in accordance with separate lawsuits.
The two ladies, recognized as Jane Doe within the complaints, sued Patrick Smith — who resigned earlier this 12 months as senior vice president of worldwide print manufacturing within the studio’s advertising and marketing division following an investigation by the company into his alleged misconduct — together with the film studio and guardian company Paramount Global.
Smith was the direct supervisor for each ladies, who labored at Paramount Pictures in addition to XYi Design, a vendor utilized by the studio, in accordance with the lawsuits filed earlier this month and reported by The Hollywood Reporter and Variety.
Patrick Smith resigned earlier this 12 months from his position as senior vice president of worldwide print manufacturing following a company investigation. Getty Images
“It is our understanding that Paramount allowed Patrick Smith to resign, rather than firing him, after he was asked not to work in the office during the investigation,” Eugene “Chip” Matthews, a lawyer representing one of the Jane Does, advised Variety.
“We believe that allowing him to resign left his employment record ‘unblemished’ and allowed him to seek any retirement or benefits he may have coming to him.”
Matthews’ shopper claimed the sexual assaults by Smith started in 2016 — when she was 24 and “fresh out of college, according to the complaint filed on July 14 in California state court. Smith locked her in his car, “shoved his hand between her legs” and molested her, the grievance alleged.
Two years later, Smith allegedly pulled her into secluded spots on the studio lot for intercourse acts, and later sodomized her, in accordance with the lawsuit.
At across the time of the alleged 2018 incident, the girl was interviewed by human assets about Smith’s conduct after one other company worker got here ahead with complaints, the grievance alleged.
According to the lawsuit, Smith advised the girl that he was contacted by HR and requested in the event that they needed him to “take care of it” — which the plaintiff claims was a thinly veiled suggestion that the worker who complained could be fired.
Paramount Pictures is being accused of turning a blind eye to repeated acts of assault and harassment by a former executive. REUTERS
She left Paramount Pictures in 2022.
The different accuser, in a lawsuit filed on July 9, says she labored at Paramount from 2017 to 2019 earlier than being directed to work straight for a similar advert company as the opposite Jane Doe.
While there, she alleges that Smith frequently engaged in “predatory behavior.”
According to the grievance, Smith repeatedly referenced sexual acts and made advances towards her, together with one occasion wherein he demanded that she be a part of him at a convention in Nevada and steered that they might have intercourse there.
Smith has been accused by a minimum of one lady of “predatory behavior” on the studio lot. REUTERS
After his advances have been rebuffed, Smith allegedly retaliated by orchestrating a important demotion of the account dealt with by the accuser’s advert company regardless of the company being one of essentially the most aggressive distributors as a consequence of its pricing, the lawsuit claims.
The July 9 lawsuit claims Paramount ignored a number of complaints of sexual misconduct by Smith, who has allegedly been terminated from different executive-level positions at different leisure firms as a consequence of prior incidents of sexual harassment and lorded guarantees of promotions over staff.
The alleged harassment additionally wasn’t focused solely on the accuser, in accordance with the grievance.
“Smith repeatedly made inappropriate and unwarranted remarks about female colleagues, openly displaying a disregard for professionalism and respect,” Byron Purcell, a lawyer for the girl, alleged within the lawsuit.
On one event, he allegedly mentioned of one other worker, “She’s older, so there’s probably something going on with her hormones. She’s acting crazy.”
Both lawsuits are in search of unspecified damages.
The Post has sought remark from Smith, Paramount Global, Purcell and Matthews.
