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Former Desperate Housewives star Nicollette Sheridan is suing the show's creator for $20 million, alleging assault and battery, gender violence and wrongful termination. The actress claims Marc Cherry created a hostile work environment on the set of the ABC drama, "behaving in an extremely abusive and aggressive manner."
In the lawsuit filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Sheridan alleges that Cherry hit her in the face on the set and that she was then fired for complaining about him to ABC, "resulting in her losing millions in future earnings."
Sheridan's character, Edie Britt, was killed off the show last year, after, the actress claims, she made "an effort to discuss his negative demeanor toward her and to discuss whether he had a problem with her work."
Cherry reportedly told her he didn't have a problem with her and apologized, only to lash out at her again, behaving in a "rude and degrading manner," leading up to their alleged violent encounter on set during the Sept. 24, 2008, rehearsal.
"When Sheridan questioned Cherry about something that was in the script, Cherry took her aside and forcefully hit her with his hand across her face and head," the lawsuit says.
"You just hit me in the head. That is not okay. THAT IS NOT OKAY!" Sheridan responded, the lawsuit says.
After the incident, Cherry went to her trailer to "beg forgiveness," the lawsuit says, but after Sheridan reported him to ABC, his behavior allegedly worsened. In February 2009, the actress was told that her character was being written off the show and she was being fired, according to the lawsuit.
"The decision to kill off Sheridan's character demonstrates that Cherry and ABC intended to and did retaliate against Sheridan for her complaints about Cherry," the lawsuit says. The lawsuit notes that although some of the male characters were killed off the show, "none of the female characters had ever before been killed off or written out of the show."
ABC responded to the claims with this: "While we have yet to see the actual complaint, we investigated similar claims made by Ms. Sheridan last year and found them to be without merit."
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What would you do if a coworker or manager was violent in the workplace? Chime in below!
