Former Assistant Sues William Morris Endeavor For Age Discrimination, Harassment
A former assistant has sued talent agency William Morris Endeavor alleging both age discrimination and harassment after the agency declined to allow him to enter the firm's agent training program.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sean Bryan, 44, filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming that despite receiving favorable performance reviews for his work, he was not allowed to become an agent trainee with co-defended Carole Katz, head of human resources for William Morris, allegedly saying that Bryan "did not fit the Endeavor model."
Bryan also claims he was harassed because of his age, with superiors making comments such as "Who's the old guy at the desk?" and and "You are going to have a hard time here because of your age and hair color."
WME's lead attorney Mark Baute took exception to Bryan's claims, telling THR that, "Mr. Bryan's age discrimination claim against WME is utterly meritless, and WME will not have any difficulty defending itself on the merits in a courtroom setting," Baute tells THR. "Mr. Bryan had a chronic tardiness and absenteeism problem, which was well documented, and he was not discriminated against in any way, shape or form. Any further comment would unduly dignify a frivolous lawsuit that should never have been filed." – CelebrityAccess
I heard WME just lost a racial discrimination suit as well….